Sermon Tone Analysis

Glad you were able to make it to church this morning:

Gertrude and Mildred were driving to their Sunday school party.

The two elderly sisters were thankful they could still drive and took turns driving the Buick they shared.

Gertrude became very nervous after Mildred ran through two red lights.

As they approached the next light, Mildred was talking nonstop and gave no indication that she would stop.

Gertrude shouted, “Mildred, the light is red!” Mildred immediately slammed on the brakes.

As she stared at the red light she said, “I’m sorry, I thought you were driving.”

TELL THE STORY:

Ruth has chosen to stay with her mother-in-law

They are both widows

Naomi had spent 10 hard years in Moab, and now returned to Bethlehem.

When they returned to the city, word travelled fast

Apparently, those 10 hard years had done a number on Naomi, emotionally and physically

People hardly recognized her

“Naomi” means “pleasant,” but Naomi was not pleasant any longer

She no longer wished to be called pleasant, but “mara” meaning “bitter”

In her words, God had dealt very bitterly with her, and she had returned with nothing

Ruth and Naomi had arrived in time for the harvest season, which was a time of happiness and gratefulness, but Naomi did not reflect the spirit of the season

Ruth was not content to sit at home, but took advantage of the Law of gleaning

God, providentially guided her to the field belonging to the man who would raise her up out of poverty and show her love

She worked all day long, under the sun, gathering by hand

Boaz, inspecting the harvest, noticed the young woman

He had heard of her, that she stuck by Naomi, and now, saw her working to meet their need

Boaz did everything he could to help Ruth along

He did not give her bundles, but made it easier work for her

He offered protection and provided for her physical needs as she worked

He gave her a seat at the table, and fed her with the food meant for his employees

She went back to work, and when she was done gathering, beat the stalks herself, and gathered up the grain

She arrived home with something like a five gallon bucket, full to the top of grain — many days worth of food

Naomi was astonished by the amount she had gathered, and equally astonished by the man who had been so kind — he was a near enough relative to restore her husbands property, and give her a family again

Naomi, starts to change her tone a bit, and invokes the blessing of the Lord on Boaz for his kindness, and begins to consider God’s providence and plan

Choosing Bitterness

Naomi chose bitterness toward God as the response to her circumstances and troubles — even though her troubles had come as a result of her own actions

The fact of the matter is, bitterness is a choice — a natural response, but we choose that response

Poisoning Yourself

When a rattlesnake is cornered, sometimes it becomes so angry that it bites itself.

When a man harbors hatred or bitterness in his heart he is poisoning himself just like the rattlesnake that bites itself.

A&M Cadet

Bruce Goodrich was being initiated into the cadet corps at Texas A & M University.

One night, Bruce was forced to run until he dropped—but he never got up.

Bruce Goodrich died before he even entered college.

A short time after the tragedy, Bruce’s father wrote this letter to the administration, faculty, student body, and the corps of cadets:

“I would like to take this opportunity to express the appreciation of my family for the great outpouring of concern and sympathy from Texas A & M University and the college community over the loss of our son Bruce.

We were deeply touched by the tribute paid to him in the battalion.

We were particularly pleased to note that his Christian witness did not go unnoticed during his brief time on campus.”

Mr. Goodrich went on: “I hope it will be some comfort to know that we harbor no ill will in the matter.

We know our God makes no mistakes.

Bruce had an appointment with his Lord and is now secure in his celestial home.

When the question is asked, ‘Why did this happen?’

perhaps one answer will be, ‘So that many will consider where they will spend eternity.

‘“

Our Daily Bread, March 22, 1994

Fail = “lack, be destitute”

Springing up = “to grow”

Trouble = “to cause discomfort, annoy, afflict”

Many be defiled = “stained, polluted, contaminated, morally tainted”

Bitterness is:

A choice

A cancer

A contagion

2 cor

Statement — When you choose bitterness, ultimately you set yourself at odds with God, you poison yourself by emptying yourself of God’s grace, and you contaminate those around you with your state of mind.

You become a sour note where God desires harmony.

Statement — You will either believe this in faith, and see every circumstance as an spiritual appointment with God for your good, or you will reject this, and act as if God is absent-minded, and unfeeling, and inattentive to your circumstances.

Choosing Betterness

Noami chose to face live bitter.

But Ruth set out to make their situation better.

You can complain about your circumstances, and they’ll remain unchanged so you can continue to complain, or you can take the initiative to change your circumstances and move beyond them.

Even the welfare system of Ruth’s day, the one set up by God, required the poor to go out and gather their food from the field!

Don’t wait for hand outs when you can put your hands to work.

God gave you the ability and the intelligence to make something out of your circumstances — and no one ever gets rich by whining.

I spent a fortune

On a trampoline,

A stationary bike,

And a rowing machine

Complete with gadgets

To read my pulse,

And gadgets to prove

My progress results,

And others to show

The miles I’ve charted—

But they left off the gadget

To get me started!

Ask God to give you the strength to meet your circumstance head on.

Naomi ran from her problems, blamed God, and got bitter.

Ruth worked through her problems, was blessed by God, and things got better.

Which pattern are you following?

Channelling Blessedness

God used Boaz to bless Ruth & Naomi, and Boaz allowed himself to be a blessing.

Boaz looked beyond Ruth’s background.

Boaz recognized and commended Ruth’s initiative

Maybe we ought to spend more time looking for good in each other, rather than picking out the faults

The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under.

He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments.

Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired.

In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again.

Wellington thought for a moment, then replied.

“I’d give more praise,” he said.

Boaz did not enable Ruth — he did not give her what she needed, instead Boaz encouraged and empowered Ruth to be able to gather what she needed.

Is your interaction with those around you helping people to grow, or are you holding people back.

We often try to limit the success of others out of some feeble attempt to make our success appear greater, but we are holding them and ourselves back in the process.