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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:00 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. What a joy and a privilege for us to worship the Lord together and to study the word of God. We are continuing our sermon series on the book of0:12 Ruth. Today is part 4, and I'm titling today's sermon, hope for the future. We're gonna focus on Ruth chapter 2, the entire0:23 chapter, and look at how God provides Ruth with his favor and how God has provided for Ruth through Boaz. Hallelujah.0:35 Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this day. We acknowledge your sovereignty over our lives. And in every step that we take, mighty God, your word says that the righteous person's0:47 steps are ordered by the Lord. And indeed, mighty God, you engineer circumstances, you organize divine appointments so that we are continuing to be aligned to your will. And father0:59 God, we thank you for your sovereignty and your providence. And even as we study your word, open our eyes and give us listening ears and a heart that is willing to trust you wholeheartedly and to obey you1:11 confidently. We thank you, Lord. In Jesus' precious name we pray, and the people of God said, amen and amen. Hallelujah. Today, we are continuing in our sermon1:22 series on the book of Ruth. Today, my title is hope for the future. I'm going to focus on Ruth chapter 2, the entire chapter. In this1:34 beautiful narrative, we're going to see God's providence. We're going to see how God sovereignly moves people to be at the right place at the right time. And through his1:45 providence, he provided for Ruth and Naomi, a kinsman redeemer by the name of Boaz. And how Boaz, in the mercy of God, in in in the grace of1:57 God, how Boaz looked after Ruth. There's a beautiful story, and there is a beautiful lesson for us to glean. You know, in Ruth chapter 1, we saw how2:09 Elimelech and his wife Naomi, they were leaving the Promised Land, and they relocated to a polluted land. They left Bethlehem, which is called the House2:21 of Bread, and they went to Moab, which is a polluted land. But the Bible says what they tried to manufacture through reasoning, human reasoning, we don't2:33 know the reasons why they relocated, but in my first message, I covered it could be a Moabic decision. It was a decision based by sight rather than by faith. It is a2:44 decision based by short term gain rather than long term benefits. It's a decision based on thinking materially rather than seeking2:55 spiritually. In other words, for some reason, this man of God, he took his family and relocated to Moab. But the Bible says in Moab, not only he died, his3:07 2 sons died, leaving behind 3 widows. And Naomi makes her journey back to Bethlehem after she heard that the Lord had visited3:19 Bethlehem and had provided food for his people. Now, in chapter 1, the writer ends by saying that Ruth and Naomi came back to Bethlehem at the3:31 beginning of barley harvest. Indeed, the Lord had visited his people and had provided them food. Praise God. But Naomi confesses, I went away3:42 full and God has brought me back empty. And in Ruth chapter 2, we begin the story where Naomi and Ruth are pretty empty. But by the end3:54 of the chapter, we see Ruth and Naomi are fully satisfied and their hands are full. Our God is a provider. And here in chapter 2, have a4:06 beautiful narrative where the Holy Spirit introduces us the kinsman redeemer, Boaz. Now Boaz is a beautiful picture of Christ, and every time we think of Boaz, we should4:18 think about Jesus Christ, because it is he who came to redeem us. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 1, in him we were chosen. In him we are predestined to4:30 be adopted as sons in the family of God. We have been accepted in him, in the beloved. Hallelujah. It is in him that we find our redemption. In4:41 other words, we will find our sufficiency in Christ. The same picture the Holy Spirit paints for us here through Boaz. Boaz is a4:53 picture of Christ and Ruth is like us. We are the ones who are undeserving. We do not belong to the covenant of Israel, but the Bible says5:05 that God has taken Gentiles like you and me, and he has grafted us into the wine. We have been grafted into that covenant that God had with Israel. And now we have a better5:17 covenant. It is the new covenant where the Gentiles and Jews have placed in the kingdom of God. Hallelujah. And it is through Jesus Christ. What a glorious picture and5:29 what a beautiful picture. So as we study this, book, I want you to think about this. In verse 1 and verse 2 and verse 3, it is such a beautiful narrative that the Holy5:40 Spirit highlights the the diligence of Ruth. You know Ruth is actually a determined person and she's a diligent person. The Bible5:52 actually gives us clue that she was decisive. In other words, she wanted to take some action. She says to the mother-in-law, let me go and glean, in whose sight I find favor.6:04 And then she steps out to go and glean. Praise God. And the Bible says, God's providence was there on top. In other words, God was God was engineering the6:16 circumstances as such that at the right time, Ruth will happen to be in a field that belonged to Boaz, and Ruth and Boaz will meet. But the Bible says Ruth6:27 was actually a diligent worker. When Boaz was told who this young woman is, the young woman had worked from morning till now, only taking a short rest. In6:39 other words, she was a diligent worker. I'm thankful to the Lord that this diligent worker happened to enter the field of6:51 Boaz. Now, it is not coincidence, it is not happenstance, it is not an accident, but it is the God of providence. Hallelujah. Coincidences in our7:03 lives are orchestrated by the God of providence. That's why you and I, we rejoice in the fact that it is by His grace you and I are saved. It is by His grace that you and I have been7:14 redeemed. It is by His grace that you and I are blessed in every aspect of our lives. Now today, I wanna focus on this verse 12 and he says,7:26 may the Lord give you full reward. And what is the reward that Ruth received? You know, she's a woman who activated the favor of God upon her life, but what is it that7:38 Ruth received as a reward from the Lord? Now this is what I want to focus on. There are 4 things that Boaz gave to Ruth in Ruth chapter 2, and those 4 things, I7:50 believe, is what Jesus Christ, our Boaz. Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, gives to us, the Church of Jesus Christ. You and I, as people of God, when we take our8:02 rightful place in the kingdom of God, when we come and we say, Lord, I come empty handed, I want to cling to you, I have nothing else, only you are my source of hope and8:13 help. The Bible says, our Redeemer, Jesus, He provides for us. So what has He provided? Let's look at what Boaz provided Ruth. Number 1, Boaz8:25 gave her a place. In verse 8, it says, then Boaz said to Ruth, now listen my daughter. I want you to pay pay attention to the words of endearment here.8:37 Pay attention, my daughter. In other words, he's actually including her, even though she doesn't deserve it. She's a Moabite. She's a Moabitis, but8:49 the Bible says, Boaz spoke kindly to her. Do not go to glean in another field or leave this 1, but keep close to my young woman. In other words, what he's saying9:01 is, he's making room for her. He says to her, I know that you are a Moabites, but you know what? I'm making room for you. You are included in9:13 my field. Stay in this field. You know, this is exactly what Jesus did for us. The Bible says in first John chapter 4 and verse 19, we love9:24 him because he first loved us. He has shown us mercy. He has shown us grace. He has shown us love. He has shown us loving kindness. We9:36 don't deserve it, but yet he chose to take the first step. He comes to us and says, my son, my daughter, I have opened the way for you to come into the eternal kingdom. Come. I have9:48 prepared a place for you. You can be with me. Hallelujah. You know, the word of God is so beautiful. In Romans chapter 5 and verse 6, the Bible says, while we were still10:00 weak, you know the word weak there is the word for powerless. You know, it is the picture, the met the mental picture that it should create is a dead body. For we were10:12 still powerless, weak, like a dead body, like a cop's. A cop's can't do anything for it in itself. In other words, there is no life. There is no10:24 desire. There is nothing that it the cops can do. But instead, the Bible says, for while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. We were the10:35 ungodly, but Christ died for us at the right time. At the right time, Boaz comes into Ruth's life and says, Ruth, I have made provision for you. Come. I have made a place for you.10:47 Come. Don't go anywhere else. Stay here. Verse 8 says, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Can you believe this church?10:59 I pray every person under the sound of my voice that you are a firm believer in what Christ Jesus has done for you. That you now belong to the eternal kingdom. Hallelujah. That's what we've been studying in the book of11:10 Ephesians throughout this year. That in Christ we are eternally redeemed. Our redemption is costly. Our redemption is free. Our redemption is complete. Our redemption is11:22 eternal because we are in Christ Jesus. The bible says, he who knew no sin became sin for us so that we who do not know righteousness can become the righteousness of God. It is he who took11:34 our place so that we can take his place. Hallelujah. He became poor on the cross so that we through his poverty might become rich. Hallelujah. It is he who became cursed with the curse of the law11:46 so that we can be redeemed from every curse so that we can walk in the blessing that God has promised Abraham. Hallelujah. He took our place so that we can take his place. That is why11:58 when you whenever you think about the gospel, and you should be thinking about it every single day, it should produce a grateful heart. It should produce a response of worship unto the Lord. Why?12:10 Because we are foreigners. We were sinners. We were dead like a corpse, and yet the Bible says he came and he rescued us. How? By the divine exchange.12:22 Hallelujah. That's why on the cross, he who never hurt a single soul, he stood as a murderer. He who have never committed any12:34 adultery stood there as an adulterer. In other words, he took my place, he took your place, so that you can take his place and be welcomed into the eternal12:46 home. So in Christ Jesus, we have been given a place. Secondly, Boaz gave her protection. Look at this in verse 9. In verse 9 it says, let your eyes be12:58 on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, to the vessels and drink what the13:10 young men have drawn. I want you to pay attention to verse 9, and the first part, it says, have I not charged the young man not to touch you? You know, in verse 8 he13:21 says, keep close to my field, in other words, stay in the field, and keep close to my young woman. And the Bible says, in verse 9, have I not charged the young man not to touch13:33 you? In other words, here Ruth is a vulnerable widow. She's a young woman. And as a young woman, as a widow, with no 1 to look after her,13:45 she's vulnerable. In other words, she could be raped by people, she could be taken advantage by people, and yet, this vulnerability that she has, she took her13:57 refuge under the wings of God. She came and sought refuge in Boaz, in God. And the Bible says, through Boaz, God gave her protection. In other words, the14:08 Bible says, you stay in this field and I have charged no 1 to touch you. Hallelujah. What did Christ do for us church? He saved14:20 us. Not only he redeemed us, but he actually brought us into the family of God. I want you to listen to me carefully. Boaz says to Ruth, not only to stay in the14:32 field, but he also says, stay close to my young woman. Why? He wants her to be part of the loving community. When you are in the community, there14:44 is safety. When you are out of the community, you could be raped by false doctrines. You could be raped by the the the temptations that you face. Look, listen to me carefully. When you14:56 stay in the community, it is not just for for the sake of coming together to have fellowship, but there is a place of accountability. There's a place of safety in the community.15:08 That's why this morning, I'm so grateful to the Lord that I have a church community. You know, when I left India, and I came to Australia, it was, in 19 9815:20 I left India, more than 25 years ago. And in 25 years ago when I left India, I knew that I have left behind my father, my mother, sister, my church15:32 family, all my friends, all my network. I left everyone and followed God. And the word of God says, those who leave their father, their mother, their brother, their sister, for the sake15:44 of the gospel, the Lord will give them hundred fold. And I can testify in the last 25 years, God not only gave me fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters in15:55 Sydney, but he has given me brothers and sisters all over the world. And the only reason I can say this boldly is because it is because of his goodness. He has poured out his16:07 favor. He has given me that blessing to be part of the eternal kingdom of God. To be part of the family of God, and because we are family of God, we have brothers and sisters that we can16:19 keep each other safe. Not only that, even though I have brothers and sisters all over the world, the most important people in my world today are the people16:31 who are around me and surround me in Sydney. I'm so grateful to the Lord for IDMC Church because it is in this church for the last 23 years, both my my16:43 wife and I, we have been here as a young couple, get married, have our first son, have our second son, buy our first home. In all these things that everything, every step of the way we took, the16:55 church has been with us. There has been people who have loved us through every season of our lives, through every challenge, through every pain, through every tear, through every tribulation. There has been people who17:06 have journeyed with us, and I'm grateful to the Lord for a family. Why? For people who have left behind their fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters, God gives them hundredfold in the church of Jesus Christ,17:18 and that is what I appreciate. I want you to listen to me carefully. You and I are people of God who have been planted in the house of the Lord. That's why 1 of the core things17:30 that I want you to listen to me is, don't don't take for granted the place where God has planted you. Because where he has planted you is a place where God has given you providential17:42 relationships. These are providential relationships. The pastor in your life is a providential relationship. Don't take it for granted. The brothers and sisters that he has given you in your small group17:54 relationship. It is God who in his providence, he has brought your paths to cross, and now you're doing life together. So do life together, and learn to do it properly. Why? Because in this journey,18:07 this journey with your brothers and sisters in Christ, it will go into eternity. Your marriage will end 1 day. It is only temporal. Your other earthly relationships will end 1 day. But can I humbly say18:18 this, the brothers and sisters you have in Christ, you will keep enjoying this company even in eternity? Hallelujah. That is why treasure this. You know, it saddens my heart when people all over the18:30 world in after COVID, they have such a loose connection with their local church. But can I humbly say this, as we are living in the last leg of the last days, you and I have to pay attention to the place where God has18:42 planted us? In Psalm 92 and verse 12, it says, the righteous 1 will be like the cedar of Lebanon. They will be like the root. They they will be like a tree that is planted and when they are planted in the18:53 house of the Lord, they will flourish in the in the courts of our God. Not only that, they will bear fruit even in old age and they will be fresh and flourishing. I want you to listen to me carefully. They19:05 that are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of the courts of our Lord. That's why I want you to pay attention to this, stay in the community. Why? Because there is19:17 safety in the community. Let me end by saying this. The banana that leaves the bunch gets eaten. In other words, when the banana19:29 stays in the bunch, it remains in the bunch. But the moment it's disconnected from the bunch, somebody is gonna eat it. The banana that leaves the bunch gets eaten, and in the last days,19:41 you wanna be part of the loving community where God has placed you, so treasure it. That's the second thing Boaz gave her. The third thing that Boaz gave Ruth is19:53 provision. Boaz gave her provision. Look at the second part of verse 9. It says, when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.20:05 I want you to pay attention to this because here's a woman who is undeserving. Boaz gave her not only place in the field, but he also gave her20:16 protection by saying to her, I have charged the young man not to touch you, but now he says, go and drink water from where my young men have drawn.20:28 In other words, the young men have drawn the water for the workers, but she's not 1 of the workers. She's actually a reaper. She's a poor widow who who is coming here for charity,20:41 but yet the Bible says, Boaz gave her in abundance. Not only that, look at this in verse 14. It says, and at mealtime Boaz said to her, come here20:53 and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine. So she sat beside the reapers and he passed to her roasted grain. Listen to me carefully. And she ate until she was21:04 satisfied and she had some leftover. Go back to that place where it said, come here and eat some bread and dip your muscle in the wine. Here the Bible21:16 says that Boaz gave her a place at the table. I want you to listen to me carefully. He not only offered her place in his field and protection21:28 and provision, but now he's making room for her to even sit at the table and partake of the food that he provides for himself and for the reapers.21:40 Listen to me carefully. Here is a beautiful picture of what Jesus has provided for us. What Christ has done for us is he has made room for us. The Bible says he has21:52 set a banqueting table before me and the banner over me is love. Hallelujah. The Bible says, he anoints my head with oil and my cup overflows.22:03 Behold, he sets a table in the presence of my enemies. I want you to listen to me carefully. You and I have been brought near to Christ, and he has not only brought us22:15 near, he has given us room at the table where we can sit down and have a meal with him. The Bible says in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 20, behold, I stand at the22:27 door and knock, and if anyone open the door of their heart, the Bible says, I will come into him and eat with him, and he will eat with me. In other words, Jesus is waiting22:39 for you and I to have intimate fellowship with him. And here's a beautiful picture in verse 14, that he gave her bread, and then he gave her wine. Isn't that22:51 a beautiful picture? That's what Jesus has given to us in the New Testament. At the Passover meal, the Bible says Jesus took bread, gave thanks to the Father, and he broke it, and he gave it to his23:03 disciples, and he said, this is my body that is wounded, that is broken for you. And then he took the cup and he says, this is my blood that has been shed for the forgiveness of your sin. In other words, whenever you23:15 partake of this meal, remember the Lord's death. In other words, this is the 1 that you and I partake of. He came to give us his life, he came to give us his body and his23:27 blood, and we partake of it. And the Bible says in the Old Testament, you know, when Abraham came back from waging a war, in fact Lot had been captured and23:39 Abraham and his 318 servants from his house went and fought the battle with 5 kings and they took all the spoils and they were returning back victoriously from this battle23:51 in Genesis chapter 14. And the Bible says, Melchizedek, a picture of Christ again. Melchizedek means Melchizedek. Zedek is righteousness. He's the king of righteousness.24:03 And he was the king of Shalom, the Bible says. He's the king of Salem. In other words, he's the king over Jerusalem. He's the king of peace. And he comes with bread and wine. And the Bible says, he was24:15 the priest of the most high God. Again, it's a picture of Christ. He comes and offers bread and wine to Abraham. Abraham comes so tired after fighting a war with 524:27 kingdoms, but yet the Bible says he was refreshed. By who? By Jesus. A picture of Christ. Here Boaz does the same thing. Ruth has been working24:39 from morning till mid till noon, only having a short rest. He says to her, come, sit at my table. Let me give you bread and wine. And you know what? In the picture in Genesis24:50 chapter 14, it is a beautiful picture where Melchizedek gave him bread and wine, and Abraham, in return, he actually took a tenth of everything that he collected in the25:02 spoils and he gave to Melchizedek. What is tenth? Tenth is a tithe. He tithed him all from the spoils, all from his income. He tithed a portion, 10 percent, to25:13 Melchizedek. It was a beautiful picture of how we believe that that's a picture that you and I carry every single day in our heart, that he has given us his life, and by his grace, we go have the25:25 victories in the world, and we come back with with our victories and we offer that victories as a sign unto him, a portion of that victory back to him and to say, Lord, it is you by your grace, by your mercy25:37 you have provided for us. Here in the picture, Ruth is enjoying a place at the table. I want you to listen to me carefully. Table is so important in the Bible.25:49 It was a mealtime where Satan tempted Eve. Have you ever noticed that? It it was during a mealtime. Adam and Eve were about to partake of a26:01 fruit that Satan comes and tempts them to eat from the wrong tree. The wrong fruit, the forbidden fruit. I want you to listen to me. Why? Because mealtimes signify something more26:13 spiritual. See, many times when you're sitting at the table, all you want to do is to whack all the food into your body. I want you to listen to me carefully. When you sit at the table to eat your food, remember this.26:25 There's food that is placed before you. You not only offer gratitude to God by show by saying grace, you say, Lord, I thank you for the food that you have provided for me, but you're partaking of it in worship.26:37 Why? Because when it when you partake of it, it goes to your bowel. B o w e l. E l in the bible always speaks of Elohim, God. In other words, you're bowing before God26:49 as you're eating. You know, you're using your elbow to eat. El, bow. In other words, it's like L. God is bowing and feeding you. Listen to me carefully. It's it's a beautiful27:01 picture of your elbow and your bowel being full. It's a mealtimes are significant. That's why what you do during mealtime matters. What many people do during mealtime is they just watch27:13 TV. They're just listening to news or they're having some mundane conversation. Can I humbly say this? Meal times are spiritually significant. It can refresh you from inside out. It can bring27:25 help and healing and wholeness to you. How? When you put God into the picture of what you're doing. Bring God into the equation. The Bible says in Exodus chapter 12, the people27:36 of God had been in slavery for nearly 430 years. They were weak and tired, and they were going to be delivered with a mighty outstretched arm by the Lord overnight.27:49 But they are still very weak physically. You know how God saved them and how God revived them? God did it through 1 act. He says to them in if in Exodus chapter 12, you go back into28:00 your house, you apply the blood on the doorposts, and you roast the meat, and you partake of the meat as a family. And the Bible says, as they ate the meat, the Bible says they were28:12 refreshed. There was none feeble among them. When the next day, when they had to leave Egypt into the wilderness, there was no 1 feeble among them. It was a mealtime28:24 that they were energized. Same thing in the in in the upper room, Jesus institutes a mealtime. It was during a mealtime Jesus says, this is how you serve 1 another. This is how you show28:35 love to 1 another. He washes their feet, and there he shows what servant leadership is all about. Not only that, he says to them, every time you gather together, remember what I28:47 have done. This is my body that is wounded and broken for you, and this is my blood that is shed for you for the forgiveness of your sin. Here, the Bible says, Ruth28:58 received that from Boaz. She received bread and wine. What a beautiful picture. But can I humbly say this? While I was meditating on this, the Lord29:10 brought a picture of a a lame person from the Bible. His name is Mehi Bosheth. You read about his story in second Samuel chapter 9 and verse29:21 7 all the way to verse 13. In second Samuel chapter 9 and verse 7 to verse 13, you read about Mehibosheth. Who is Mehibosheth? Mehibosheth is actually the29:33 grandson of Saul and the son of Jonathan. David 1 day wanted to show gratitude to God and he wanted to show kindness to the household of Saul.29:45 And he heard that there's only 1 grandson that is left alive and his name is Mehibosheth. And Mehibosheth is Jonathan's son, Saul's grandson.29:57 So David says, bring Mehibosheth to me. And when Mehibosheth was brought, he was actually carried into the presence of the king. Why? Because Mehibosheth was lame in both his feet. He30:09 cannot walk. He had to crawl. So someone carried him and brought to him. And this is what David says to him, and David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I30:21 will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always. Listen carefully. Because of the sake of your father,30:34 I'm gonna show you kindness. And what I'm gonna show you is that I'm gonna take care of you, and you're gonna sit at my table and eat at my table always.30:45 What a great privilege that is, you know. Why? Because the king's sons, Absalom, Solomon, all these king's sons are seated at the table around king, and now,30:57 Mehi Bosheth is added to that. In other words, Mehibosheth doesn't feel like part of the family. He doesn't belong there, but the Bible says, yet David made room and brought him in. But I want to pay31:09 attention to 1 verse in verse 13, and in verse 8, sorry. In verse 8, in second Samuel chapter 9 and verse 8 it says, and he paid homage and said, what is your31:21 servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? Mehi Bosheth saw himself as a dead dog. Why? Because he can't do anything for himself. He's lame in both his31:32 feet, so he is depending on other people to carry him. He's depending on other people's charity to make a living. Here David says, you are not a dead dog. But the Bible says, David showed31:44 him favor by placing him at the table. But I want to pay attention to verse 13. Verse 13 says, so Mehibosheth lived in Jerusalem for he ate always31:56 at the king's table. For he ate always at the king's table, now he was lame in both his feet. Pay attention to that last line. Mehibosheth was carried into the king's table,32:08 and he's seated at the king's table. The Bible records he ate at the king's table always. But yet, the Bible makes a distinction. He was lame in both his32:20 feet. You know, when you sit at the table, people can't see your feet. So when people look at the table, they see Solomon, they see Absalom, they see Mehibosheth, they see all the sons of32:31 David, and all of them are majestic in their appearance. Solomon the intellectual, Absalom the handsome, and Mehi Bosheth must have also looked kingly. But32:43 below the table, his 2 feet are still dysfunctional. Both his feet are still dysfunctional. I want you to listen to me carefully. In other words,32:54 positionally, he had been placed at the table. Conditionally, he's still lame. He hasn't changed, but the favor of God is activated. Same thing. Ruth33:06 sits at the Boaz's table, but Boaz, Ruth is still a Moabitess. Listen to me, you and I, we will never qualify. We will33:17 never be we will never be able to earn our place at the table. We will always depend on the grace of God. We will always depend on the mercy of God. We will33:29 always depend on the favor of God. It is the favor of God. It is not because of our right behavior. It is not because both our legs are working that we can sit at the table. No. It is because of his33:41 mercy and grace that we have a seat at the table in spite our walk not being right many times. What a grace of God. I want you to listen to me carefully. Take a moment to thank the Lord for the33:53 grace that he has shown you. Hallelujah. Just like Boaz gave Ruth provision, God has made provision for you and me. We have to come in his presence and take our place at the seat at the34:05 table and be blessed by the Lord. Hallelujah. The second part of Ruth chapter 2 in verse 14 says, She ate until she was satisfied and she had34:17 some left over. What is the fourth thing that Ruth received from Boaz? Boaz gave her plenty. Boaz gave her34:28 plenty. Look at Ruth chapter 2 and verse 14, the second part. The second part says, she ate until she was satisfied and she had some leftover. I34:40 love that word because in the whole book of Ruth chapter 2, twice the Bible mentions that Ruth was satisfied. Here's a woman who went after searching for food,34:52 but she came back fulfilled. Not only she went after food, she went after favor. And the Bible says God gave her not only food and favor, God gave her35:04 fulfillment. God satisfied her and she had some leftover. And the Bible says in Ruth chapter 2 and verse 15 and 16, Boaz instructed his35:16 young men saying, let her glean even among the sheaves and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean and do not rebuke her.35:28 I want you to listen to me carefully. Under the law, God had made provision for Ruth to glean from the margins. See Boaz had been instructed under the law to leave the35:39 margins for the marginalized. So God takes care of the poor. But here the Bible says, Boaz goes beyond what the law demands. Here's where the grace35:51 of God is seen. He goes above and beyond what is the normal expectation. His case, he goes he goes, I'm gonna give you above and beyond all you can ask or36:02 imagine. What did he do? He commanded his young men, as they are reaping, he says, take some from the sheaves and on purpose drop it.36:14 Why? Because behind them, Ruth is coming and she's collecting those things. Now, I want you to see this beautiful picture. Let her glean even among the sheaves and do not reproach36:26 her. Also, pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean and do not rebuke her. In other words, take some from the sheaves, drop36:38 it on purpose. You know, many times in believers' lives, we think it is our own, strategy and our own wisdom, our own cleverness36:50 that sometimes we have been blessed. I want you to listen to me carefully. Ruth could have this thinking. Wow. Look at these reapers. They are stupid.37:02 Why? Look at them. They are dropping sheaves. I'm only here to collect the gleanings, but yet they are dropping. Look at them. They are What kind of workers are these? They must37:14 be stupid workers. Or she could be thinking, wow. Look at me how clever I am. I know where to position myself. I have followed the reapers in a strategic manner, and I could I37:26 I can now take so much more. Can I humbly say this? Neither are the workers stupid, neither is Ruth so clever. In other words, there was a God37:38 in heaven who made certain things happen. See, I want you to this is where I want you to capture this principle. God sometimes makes some things so supernaturally natural that it37:50 is so natural that you miss it. Listen. Sometimes it is so naturally natural that you don't think it is supernatural. In other words, God had supernaturally38:02 organized for some people to leave certain things on purpose so that you will find it in your daily life. Listen to me carefully. As you are walking into that38:13 office, God had already prepared the place for your blessing. As you walk into that house, God has prepared already all that home loan and everything to be organized so that you can get38:25 it. As you enter into that country, God had already opened the doors for you to meet the right person at the right time, to be at the right place, to have the right connection so that you can have the right products for38:36 your business. Can I humbly say this? It is God who does this supernaturally natural because he's the God of providence. Hallelujah. And see what God38:48 does. He not only organized all this, but he actually says that Ruth was completely satisfied. Can I humbly say this church? You and I, every single39:00 day, we should be content in what God has given us. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3, blessed be God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in39:12 Christ in the heavenly places. In other words, in the heavenly places in Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that you and I ever need. And everyShow more
Paul Jeyachandran
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