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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in. All right, Luke, chapter three and verse one. As I always say, any verse without context is a pretext, and it's vital. And that's why I always spend time, you know, laying out the background of the scripture before we get to it. But we're already in chapter three of the Book of Ruth, and I'm gonna do my best to kind of bring you up to speed, but a whole lot has taken place. But let's begin with this first clause here. Then Naomi, her mother in law, said to her, or said To Ruth, about 10 years earlier, Elimelech and Naomi left the Promised Land. Actually, they left Judah and more specifically Bethlehem to live in Moab because there was a famine in the Promised Land. And by the way, the Moabites were enemies of Israel. I mean, they kind of walked away in some ways from the faith, you would say, by going into Moab. But soon after arriving, Naomi's husband died. Then after her husband died, as bad as that was, then her two sons died, leaving her with only two widowed daughters in law. And when Naomi finally discovered that the famine was over, she decided that she had lost everything. And she was mourning and in grief, and you'd have to read those chapters of Ruth, she decided that she'd return with her two daughters in law to Bethlehem. But as she walked, she, you know, started thinking about it, and she got concerned for her daughters in law because the Moabites were not a celebrated people in Israel. She was poor. Naomi also was aging by this time. So she said, well, daughters in law, I love you and everything, and I appreciate you and thank God for the ride we've had, but I want you to go back to Moab. And after she said that, one went back. But Ruth refused to leave her. Many of God's greatest blessings are unlocked through simple acts of kindness and everything that we're about to discover. Actually, Ruth is one of the five women mentioned in Jesus genealogy. And what unlocked this, her being part of that genealogy, was actually this simple act of kindness to an old woman that had nothing to give back to her. And she said, my daughter. So again, Ruth is a Moabite. I want to keep emphasizing that. And Naomi a Jew. But Naomi called her what daughter? Because family is not always blood. Yeah. In the end, sticking with your family is what really makes it family. He said, my daughter, shall I not seek security for you? Now Ruth had stuck with Naomi and had mourned with Naomi through the death of her husband. Naomi then mourned with Ruth at the death of her son and actually Ruth's husband. And then even when one of the daughters in laws turned back, Ruth stayed with Naomi and walked with her over 50 miles through a very rugged and steep terrain to get back to Bethlehem. And this is important. Never forget those who helped you when nobody else would, when everybody else left you okay? And I want you to watch how God rewards Ruth's simple act of kindness. Then Naomi says, I want security for you, that it may go well with you. And this is all a true mother really wants or desires for her children. She just wants things to go well for her children. So Naomi said this to Ruth. She said, now, Boaz, whose young woman you were with, because Ruth had been out earlier that day actually gleaning or collecting harvest. I'll explain that in a second for both her and her mother in law. And is he not our relative? So Moses in the law required that all Israelites leave the edges of their field for the poor. And also even in the middles of the field, if something was dropped during harvest, you weren't to go pick it up. Because what Moses wanted is a kind of workfare, if you will. You know, I don't think it's healthy for people to collect revenue, particularly when you're young, without working. So God set it up that there would be provision, but you had to go out and get it in order for it to be a benefit. So she's poor, but she's out, you know, fulfilling her personal responsibilities. Has some self respect about herself because she's working and actually she's gleaning. But unbeknownst to her, she finds herself in a field that is owned by a relative of Naomi Boaz. And let's go back a chapter, look at a verse, then we're gonna come right back. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz. Now, Boaz was a very, very wealthy man. And then it goes on who was of the family of Elimelech, who was actually again the. The deceased relative or husband of Naomi. And this man was actually in line to be the chieftain of the clan or of the family, or he was what the scholars call the kinsman Redeemer. In Hebrew, it's the goel. He was the goel of the family. And the job of the kinsman redeemer or the goel was, was if someone in the clan fell into slavery, it was the Goel or the kinsman Redeemer that would go purchase that person back. Also, if someone was murdered in the family, the kinsman Redeemer or the Goel was the avenger of blood. This was the person that made sure the crime was paid for. Also, if family land had been forfeited and land was a big deal back then, the kinsman Redeemer or the Goel was responsible for buying it back. And he sometimes collect money from the rest of the family, but to make sure that part of the family remained whole. But also, if the family had a childless widow, the Goel or the kinsman Redeemer was responsible for carrying on the family's name by marrying the childless widow. So the Goel or the kinsman Redeemer is very, very, very important. Here again, she happened to be or to come to the part of the field belonging to who? Boaz. It's amazing how she just happened to end up in the part of the field that belonged to Boaz. It's funny how things just happen in the lives of people that are faithful to God's people. You see, the God who was wise enough to create the world without us knowing is wise enough to watch out for us while we're in the world without us knowing. You know, centuries back, they called that providence. That's how God arranges the affairs of life. The fact you're sitting here is not just a coincidence. Providence has put you in this room for this moment. And at this, this time, God is doing so much more than you could ever imagine that you couldn't even. It'll make your head explode if you knew all that God was working in your life. Back to Ruth. Three, two, in fact, this Boaz is winning barley is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. So not only was Ruth at the right place, she was at the right place at the right time. You know, some say that everything is time and chance, but, you know, everything's just a coincidence, you know, but it's amazing how these coincidences start to proliferate when you're faithful to God's people. You know, if you think about it, the psalmist said, speaking for God, if I was hungry, I wouldn't tell y'all. God was like, listen, I don't need nothing from y'all. I don't need your offerings. I don't need. I'm God, you see, before you was. I am, you know, and I was good. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We were doing our thing, and I was without need. I created you out of mercy. I wanted someone to experience existence like I was experiencing it. So out of his mercy, he started creating creatures and being. But in some sense, we can really, you know, we talk about giving to God and da, da. But in some sense, you really can't give to God because God doesn't need anything. But the way we give to God is by blessing people who do have needs. You see, what you keep is all you have. But what you give, God will multiply. And all Ruth had was herself. And she gave herself to Naomi. And God honored that. And in that, again, tiny act of kindness, everything else about to read happen. So Naomi now gives Ruth advice. She says, listen, Boaz is down at the threshing floor. So here's what you do. Therefore, wash yourself. This is good advice for anyone looking for a mate. Wash off the day. Wash off all the scents from the past, and go into your future fresh. Mama has good advice here. Therefore, wash yourself. Then she says, and anoint yourself. Put on some perfume. Put on, but just enough to leave a memory, not a headache. That's what it says. And then put on. Watch. This your best garment. Now, Ruth's husband died in the Middle East. When someone dies, you wear black. Actually, many people even cut their hair. But what Naomi was saying to Ruth is, take off your morning clothes and put on some stuff that reflects your future and not your past. Because Naomi's about to set her up for success. Because every potential boo is thinking, if you don't take care of yourself, how you gonna take care of me? So if you come in all messed up, I'm like, well, you know. So she understood life and people. Then she said, and go down to the threshing floor. Now, this is where a lot of singles miss it. A Christian psychologist had a single friend, and they had a conference and all the rest. And then they had a dinner after the conference. And over dinner, the single lady commented that she thought she'd be married by this time in her life. But she went on to say, but God didn't choose that for me, because God didn't bring anybody to me. And the psychologist responded, oh, maybe God brought you 10 people, but you didn't recognize them. Well, secondly, maybe it was your demeanor that ran them off. Now, I'm not speaking to you. I'm just talking about what happened in their conversation. And then he continued. He asked her how long it had been since she had had a date. And she responded that it had been three years. So in that moment, he volunteered. And he said, listen, would you Mind if I would. I could become. Would you let me become your dating coach? And she said, yeah, a little reluctantly, but she said, yeah. And he said, this is what I'm asking of you. Every Friday, I want you to send me the name of five guys. New guys, don't recycle. Any old guys go in there. No. Five new guys that you had enough interaction with that week so they could determine whether or not they had an interest in you. So she protested, said, listen, I'm not dating five men a week. And he responded, I didn't say anything about dating. I'm just saying have friendly conversations. I'm just saying every now and then, put a smile on your face, take off the growl and have some friendly conversation. And after months of doing this, 18 months later, she was married. Now, sometimes our theology gets in our way. I'm going to read a verse, and then I'm going to tell you how many interpret it. But then I'm going to tell you what it says. Deuteronomy 8. 18. Then we'll get back to Ruth and Naomi, and you shall remember the Lord your God. That's good. That's right. You need to remember the Lord, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. Now, some people read that God's going to give me money. That's not what the verse says. It didn't say, God will give you wealth. He said, God will give you power to get wealth. You see, through Moses, God provided for Ruth, but she had to go out into the field to collect it. When miraculous manna came down from heaven, it was on everyone's front yard, but you had to go out your house, put it in containers and collect it. So if God puts it in your heart to want to be married, you still have a part to play. Mm. If God has called you to it, he will give you the grace to make it happen. I didn't wake up one Sunday, and all of a sudden we had all these people in church. I had to show up week after week, work Monday through Saturday, deal with crisis and problems, and then over time, God added to it. But there was a call. But that call didn't happen. Apart from me working and putting my shoulder into it. Are you with me, Ruth? Three. Three. Therefore, wash yourself and anoint yourself and put on your best garment and watch this and go. Go out somewhere other than your home and go down to the threshing floor, a place where eligible men would be. The Bible says if you don't work, you don't eat. I don't know how long you're going to have to work it, but if God has really placed it in your heart and you do your part, you will eventually eat. Yes, I feel pain in the room. I'm here to help you and I love you. Watch Naomi's advice, but do not make yourself known to the man. So don't go down there acting all desperate, though a little cat and mouse is just fine. Wait until he has finished eating and drinking. Now, men slept on the threshing floor to protect the harvest because everyone knew what time of the year it was. And bandits would, you know, rove around trying to steal people's harvest. So she knew where he would be. But also, we see here that Naomi wanted Ruth to respect his work because she recognized that he had duties to his men. You see, God should always be your first priority. But then family. But after that, work should be on the list somewhere, and Ruth was willing to respect this. I didn't say this in the last service, but typically, because you're going to think of that 1% example and be like, well, typically, a woman's greatest concern is her children, her family, her relatives, et cetera. A man cares about the family, but most men, one of the things that preoccupies them is their work. And we just like a woman. Her identity is often attached to her relationships. Many times a man's identity is attached to his job. So Naomi had the wisdom to acknowledge the fact. Hey, listen, Ruth, you're dealing with the guy that's making things happen. You're dealing with a very successful man, and I need you to make some space for his work. Verse 4. Then it shall be when he lies down that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go in. Now, a lot of folks want to set formulas for dating and marriage and all the rest. You really can't do that because in this case, it was the woman who made the first move. But here's the tricky part. You go in and uncover his feet. Now, to uncover a person's feet meant to submit to them, just like they would say, well, they sat at the feet of Gamael. What that meant is he was a student of. He had submitted his education to that man. Notice, though, that Naomi didn't tell her to go down there and swing on a pole, but Naomi's direction was to let him know that she was available for redemption. There's nothing wrong with telling a man what you want, because if he's the right man, he'll give it to you. So Naomi Said, uncover his feet and lie down. I don't recommend this part, ladies. Naomi must have had a whole lot of confidence in Boaz. I mean, she's matter of fact. I'm gonna let this story tell because you're not gonna believe it. Let the story tell it. So go down there. And faith is spelled R I S K. So she's taking a risk and he will tell you what you should do. We do see a principle here. It was up to her to present herself, but it was up to Boaz to claim it. One of the worst things you could do to a woman's self esteem is to enjoy her goodies, but stay non committal. Talking about, yeah, I tasted it, but maybe unless something else comes my way, I'm gonna look at this side of the room. If you're eating cookies from the shelf in the grocery store, you need to be willing to pay for the whole bag. The whole bag? The whole bag. It's gonna get worse. And she said to Naomi, all that you say to me, I will do. So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother in law instructed her. And after Boaz had eaten and drank and his heart was cheerful, and by the way, in relationships, timing can be everything. He went to lie down. And at the end of the heap of grain, she came softly. So she sneaks up on the brother the same way love kind of sneaks up on the best of us. And she uncovered his feet. Say it with me. Feet. It didn't say she uncovered her breasts. She uncovered his feet and lay down. Now, it happened at midnight that the man was startled and turned himself. And there was this washed and scented beautiful young woman lying at his feet. And he said, okay, men, for this part, I'm going to set the bar and we gonna reach for it. If you're not there yet, we gonna get there. All right, but we're all gonna reach for it together. All right. So Boaz response was, who are you, number one? You know you have a good man when he wants to know who you are before he tries to get what you have. Come on, man, I'm setting a bar. Come on. Let me. Ben, are you in the room? Any men in the room? Yeah. Woo, woo, woo. Yeah. All right, all right, all right. So he's interested in her. But a woman needs to know who she is too. So she's responding. I am, Ruby. I know who I am. Then she says, you're a maidservant. I'm not here to compete with you. I'm here to help you, to serve you. And she said, take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative. And what she was saying is, boaz, it's within your rights to take me as your wife. And sometimes men need help with the obvious and ladies need to remind us. Verse 10. Then he said, blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter. Number two. A good man never abuses, only blesses a woman who risks submitting to him. He didn't try to exploit her, take advantage of her. He blessed her for saying, I want to just serve you, for you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning. He knew the story of Naomi and Ruth in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. Number three. A good man is grateful. Grateful, grateful. I can't count the number of times my wife has saved me from myself. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you requested. For all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. Number four. A good man will protect the reputation of his beloved. He won't just leave you out there for friends and family to ridicule and criticize. He will protect his beloved's reputation. Now, it is true that I am a close relative. However, there is a relative closer than I. Number five. A good man deals with relationship obstacles or obstacles in the relationship without falling apart. So he had some problems and there were some steps that needed to be taken. He didn't think, oh, why is this always happening to me? None of that. He just did what he needed to do to get the job done. And then he said, stay this night. He came up with a plan, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you. Good. Meaning he cared more about her than he did about himself. Because he liked this girl and he wanted to be with this girl. Last chapter let you know that. But if this guy, you know, says that he'll redeem you, let him do it. Number six. We see that a good man does the right thing without cutting corners. He could have very easily consummated his marriage that night. You need to understand, the only women that came out to the threshing floor full of men were typically prostitutes. So this was a very, very serious thing. Also, she was a Moabite. Secondly, she was poor. So when you despise an immigrant in a country and you're not a citizen, you're treated a certain way. But he treated her with nothing but honor and Respect. And he refused to cut corners with this woman. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, and I think he smiled when he said this piece, then I will perform that duty for you. Daughter. As the Lord lived, lay down or lie down until morning. Number seven. He did not touch her until he made everything right. And after that she left, but left her scent on the blanket. So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before anyone could recognize. Then he said, do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. When he addressed his men, he could have had bragging rights, saying, well, I stayed with the Moabite last night. But he kept it to himself. Also he said, bring the shawl that is on you and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six ephods, which is a whole lot of barley, and laid it on her, and she went into the city. Number eight. A good man always gives more than he takes. Skip to 4 and 14. And I'm gonna wrap up a little bit early this morning. This is how it ends. So after he goes through this process and actually he has to have some conversations to get the right to marry Ruth, but he does everything it takes or took in order to get it done. By verse 13, it says, and Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife, and he went into her. The Lord gave her conception and she bore son. Actually, Ruth, the Moabitess became the great, great grandmother of David. All of that happened because Ruth pursued intimacy with her Redeemer. And in this passage, Boaz, Christ is ultimately our kinsman Redeemer. He became one of us to redeem us. He's the one that we go to when we're in a jam, in trouble. He's redeemed us from slavery, bondage and fruitlessness and, you know, all the. So in this narrative, Boaz represents Jesus, but Ruth represents us in that we must pursue intimacy with God. It will not always just kind of fall out of the sky because, you know, your name's written in the book. You know, my wife is my wife, but I have to pursue her often to have conversations. There's a level of pursuit involved in successful relationship. And many people, what they do is they come to an altar one day and say, well, my name's written in the book. And they never pursue God another moment again in their life. But we watch how Ruth pursued intimacy with her Redeemer. And I feel like the Lord is standing at the door of some of our hearts knocking and saying, would you pursue Intimacy with me. Would you go to the places and do the things that causes greater intimacy between. Are you following? Between you and me, the miracle came down. Jesus died on the cross. But the relationship we gotta engage in daily, just like the manna came down, but daily they had to collect it. God's mercies are new every morning, but we gotta get under it and we gotta connect with it. We gotta engage with it. And she bore a son. That son became David. And then again, as I said earlier, only five women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. And one of them was this Moabitess. This unlikely poor woman is remembered and now a great fame because of one simple act of kindness. God kind of hides his greatest blessings behind real simple things. I mean, something as simple as seeing someone sad and being like, hey, how you doing today? Anything I could do to help? I don't know what to say, you know, I don't. You know, or you know what? Hey, girl, you know that dress looks good on you. I'm saying girl to another girl, but simple things. If she would have went back to Moab with her other sister in law, this story wouldn't happen. She marries the chieftain. She goes from rags to riches over one act of kindness. When she initially did it, she didn't see any benefit from serving. Naomi was old. Naomi couldn't have any more children. Naomi was penniless. She didn't see any benefit for herself. But just out of decency and love and commitment to her mother in law, she is now in this book. And there are things that are hidden just behind you. Maybe flashing a smile, you just doing something kind. It's the small things, and I'm going to end with this. But when I found my wife, I was doing someone a favor. They needed a ride to a beauty supply store. I didn't use beauty supplies. But it's funny, after I saw, I started needing all of these beauty supplies. But that act of kindness, actually, it was an act of madness too, because they were taking too long in the store. So I was kind of driving. But I got annoyed for them taking advantage because they were taking too long. So then I walked in to say, what's wrong with y'all? And there was this girl in this fuchsia smock, a big old smile on her face like, oh, in that one act of kindness, me driving two ladies in my car to a store I didn't want to go to because of them, DJ and David are here and Debbie has a husband. My big point today is I don't care how unlikely you are. To fall in love with the Redeemer is the greatest romance. To seek him is the greatest adventure and to find him is the greatest achievement. Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekrer.com and by clicking the link in the description.