Emmy Moore (0:00)

Hello. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Saves Not Soft season three. You already know what the deal is. Happy New Year, y'all. This is so insane. The Lord has been so good. Obviously you see just a little bit of some updates. We still in Mikasa, still on the same couch. Just got a few little things that the Lord has just been sparking my creativity on. I just honestly moved my couch a certain way, so I. I don't know, it just needed new scenery, new life, and God's just been providing so amazingly. I hope you guys have had an amazing new year. Sorry that we've been out, but it is transitioning into a new season, and the Lord is very, very good. And this season three of Save Not Soft is one I'm really excited for. Not only because there's new beginnings and new things that the Lord is, you know, wanting to do, but it's more. So there's just, like, an intimacy that's tied to what God is doing through this podcast. And I'm really blessed to be a part of it. I'm blessed to be here. I'm blessed to communicate the things of God, to just be waring to do and share the gospel the way that I do. It's amazing that God has called me to this position, and I am blessed and honored, and I will never take it for granted. And so starting off into the new year, I think, you know, what's, like, the perfect word or message going into the new year. And I wanted to talk about the beauty of starting new and starting fresh. I think it's one of those, like, New Year Revolution. Revolution, yeah, that's what it's called. Things is like every year, you are wanting to leave something behind and not take it into what's new and what's to come. And what God has instructed me to communicate is that there are new mercies each and every single morning. Lamentation back, limitations back set up all day. And how there is a new grace, there's a new favor that God has allowed us to step into each and every single day. And so what do you do when you're falling into the same cycles? If you're in iniquity, if you're still in those chains and you're looking for new life and new beginnings and just a freshness. And we're gonna talk about what Jesus says about that, because Jesus does promise new wi, new life, fresh water and more, so eternal life with him as well. So we're gonna pray and. And we're just gonna get into what God has for Us. So let's just pray. Super quick, dear. Actually, before you pray, my name is Emmy Moore, and welcome to Safe, not Soft. This episode. Not this episode. This podcast is catered to let people know that they are heard, love, and say by God. Sorry, I didn't mean to pray with y'all. Prayer time. I just realized if you've never clicked on here, you may not know what this is, but basically, this is a podcast catered to let them let people know that they are heard, seen, and loves by God. Now let's pray and let me stop playing with y'all. Okay, let's bow our heads. Dear heavenly Father, I just thank you and praise you, God. I thank you for this platform. I thank you for the opportunity to exercise and speak the word. God, I thank you for your gospel. I thank you for the good news of Jesus Christ. God. God, I just decree and declare that as we step into this new year and as we step into new beginnings, Father, that you just bless our walk like Psalms 119105. God, that thy word is a lamp onto our feet and a light onto our path. God, let your word be the light that's on our path. God, that guides us through every circumstance. God, even if this year is a year of trials or if it's a year of celebration, God, just lead us through each and every single season and. And day, in and out, just through your word and through your promises and what you say, Father. God, I just ask that you give your children a new profound confidence as they listen to this episode. God, not because of my words or what's coming out of my mouth, God, but because it's. It's pointed. It's appointed by you, God, that you have given us the blueprint. You are showing us where to go. God, and I just thank you that you're so compassionate upon us, Father. So, God, speak to us. Speak to us. We invite you here, God. God, I release to you and I give you the responsibility of my platform. God, I give you the responsibility of this. This podcast. It's not mine. It's yours. My body is not even mine. It's yours. Oh, God, I just ask that you use me as a vessel to share the word of God with your children. God. So it transforms their minds, body, spirits, everything of which who they are. God and God. We also just declare a public declaration today, God, that we will follow you. We will follow the ways of Yeshua of Jehovah and God. We just put away all things that are not of you. We. We leave our sinful desires and our old lives behind. And we carry up our cross. We carry up our cross, God. And we know the weight that comes with it, God. But we will do it just for you, God. Speak to us. Give me the confidence to speak. Let. Let everything that falls from my mouth be from the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. So speak to your children. We're excited for what you have to say, and we love you very, very deeply. In Jesus mighty name. Amen. Amen, y'all. So as I was praying about what God wanted to do in this episode and let it alone, just kind of like the setup of these next few weeks is God emphasizing the truth of the matter of fact that we are a new creation each and every single day, that we accept and embrace Jesus Christ. And as we're talking about the new year and something that's kind of fitting into going into 2025 or like, hey, we're already here, is how are we not bringing last year into this year? How are we not bringing an old season into a new season? If you love the things of God, just like me, and if you've been praying into the new year, I would like to think that God has been setting a lot of expectation for each and every single one of you who are listening, that God is promising some great things this year. Maybe some hard things have already broken out and we're stepping into a new season. So how do we step into new seasons without bringing the baggage of old ones? And even if you just came to Christ and you're a new Christian and you didn't know God last year, how do you live a life that is apart from the world and now one that's cohesively with God. God. And I think that first starts with just embracing and accepting that Jesus is Lord. And so the kind of introduction that I wanted to bring into this is that I wanted to show that, you know, whether if you just became a Christian yesterday or if you've fallen a thousand steps back, there's just one step that's back to God, and that's through repentance, it's turning to Him. I don't care if you found Jesus yesterday or if you found him 10 years ago and then you backslid and you're trying to find him again. This year is a new beginning, and God needs you close to him. And I really want to emphasize to God's children that you may think that you're far, but the Lord is near. It's just a matter of you turning around and so, yeah, I, I want to address a desperation that the people of God may have for restoration, regardless how bad they may have messed up. I think through the Bible, you know, we see all these characters as, you know, biblical characters who have done amazing, great things for God. And I think that's awesome and it's great. What I love about the Bible though, and what I love about each and every single Bible character is that God does not fall short of showing that humans have always been forever flawed. Like, we will talk about the exaltation of like, David all day, how David was an amazing king, how he was a man after God's own heart, and yet this man committed adultery, murder and, and rebellion and all these things, and yet God used those very things, didn't permit them, but God restored him from things that he's inflicted upon himself because of God's grace and kindness and mercy. And this is just kind of the whole, like, synopsis of the Bible from the beginning of time. The moment we, we read Genesis 1:1, we see the goodness of God that He created the earth and the heavens and everything that that is in between it and on it. And through that, when human beings with the sole purpose for us to be in perfect harmony with God, we messed it up. And so the whole Bible story is human or mankind falling time after time after time again. And God so graciously reaching and ministering and uniting his people back to his heart. Because his goal ultimately is to have a harmonious relationship with mankind. Not for any reason, not because we've done anything, but because he just loves us and that's it. And so with that being said, when it comes to starting new and doing the things of God, I think it's first overcoming the shame and overcoming the old life. Even if your old life was yesterday or 10 minutes ago, it's fully turning away, aka repenting from your old life and pursuing the things of God. And God is going to honor it no matter how bad you messed up, because you've turned away from the things that you were once committing and you're now turning towards the things of God. And so I just want to speak to anybody who's listening to this episode that feels like an enemy of God and feels as if they have massive beef with God or God has massive beef with them. And what I want to encourage you with is that God has compassion upon you, but God definitely does hate your sin. But I think the mix of that is knowing that God's compassion for you will always outweigh the wrath that he has towards your sin. So what that means is that the amount of compassion and love and empathy that God has for you is. Will always be stronger than his anger and wrath towards your sin. And so knowing that it's. Knowing that you know sin, with sin comes consequences. But there's also a restoration that takes place when you follow the things of God and you repent. You turn away from you messing up. Because God's not looking for you to be a perfect Christian. He's asking for you to be a progressive one, one who is progressing in the things of God, one who is working. Not one who is just trying to do A, B, C, D, F, G, to try to make everything in the things of God perfect, where we're not to be a, a people of religion, but a people of relationship. And so going in today, in today's message, I want to talk about how your struggle is a setup. How God, just because you may feel like you're an enemy from God, God could restore that position and redeem you if you just accept the. The offer of repentance. And so we're going to talk about Ruth, Naomi and Boaz today. And if you haven't read the story of Ruth, this is one of my favorites. And it's very appealing to what the Lord has just, just shown me through this next year and what he has planned for ministry, what he has planned to communicate to the body of Christ. And it's becoming his bride, and it's embracing being God's bride. And the parallel between Ruth and Boaz and Christ and his bride is. Is magnified in this. In the story. And so I'll give a little. A little was a summary of what's happening in the story and then just kind of stop in between and just kind of give you context and teach. So we're gonna go to Ruth, chapter one. Where is Ruth in my Bible? It's. It's past. It's after Judges. I think it's right after Judges. Yep. Come on. Okay, so we're just gonna read all Stop, Go, stop, go. And we'll just go from there. So Ruth, chapter one, verse one. In the days when the Judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So. So a man from Bethlehem and Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in a country of Moab. Okay, what's the context of this story? This is in the. In the days when the Judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So what is a famine? It's basically like a scarcity of like Food, like there's no resources, no food anywhere. Everybody's hungry, everybody is starving, and there's a shortage. And usually famines were cultivated by God for one of two reasons. One, it was sparked by disobedience of the people, or two, it was for some sort of advancement for God's purpose and plan for his people. And so in this instance, we see that there was a lot of rebellion, there was a lot of sin. And Naomi and her husband are in Bethlehem as of right now. And when the famine broke out and the people of Bethlehem were going through a disparity, they needed to make a decision. And instead of staying in, in the land of Bethlehem, they got up and left and they went to Moab, which was just outside of Judah. And so why does this create some sort of tension throughout the story? Well, because Moab was an enemy to the people of Judah. So the, the Moabites, they were, they were idolizing these false gods, they were giving false exaltation, they were operating in wickedness. And they were apart from the people of. So Naomi and her husband getting up and leaving Bethlehem. They were, they were just going to a different land that was an opposition of God's people. So this wasn't just like a, hey, we're going to get up and move for the sake of convenience, which they also did, but they also got up and moved at the sake of convenience to be an enemy to God into his people. And so they get up and they, and they go to Moab while the famine is taking place. And so she then started a family while. And when she did, Naomi lost both her husband and both of her sons. And so it says the man's name was Elimelech Malek. There we go. His wife name was Naomi. And the names of his two sons were Malon and Kelon. They were. Well, we actually don't need to talk about this part. Let's go down, down, down. Verse 3. Now, her husband died and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women. So her sons which were from Judah came to Moab because they fled from the famine and they married Moabite women. So this is kind of like a Romeo and Juliet type of situation. These people who were enemies married from the other side. And so it then says, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there for about 10 years, both of her sons also died. And Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. This is a big problem because she, not only did she lose her husband, but she lost Both of her sons in the midst and had nothing to offer Ruth and Orpah, they all became widows around the same time. And when you're a widow, you are the lowest of the low. And so they're in a really compromising situation. And I think it also just shows the intentions as to why Naomi and her husband got up and left. Because if you know anything about Bethlehem, Bethlehem literally means the house of bread. So how is it that the house of bread fell into a famine that's just kind of ironic and feels like that wouldn't be the situation, but yet it is. And so it's funny that when you forget the place that, that you came from, you're going to go to other places and other extremities trying to find God in those areas where he's not there at all. And so if Naomi stayed and if she was just faithful to the things of God, she wouldn't have been affected by the famine. And we figured this out throughout the rest of the story because God was faithful to his people and provided, but she went to a different land and her sons married women in, in that opposing land. And now she's kind of in a little bit of a pickle where she's now a widow along with her now daughter in laws. And I think it just kind of shows that when there's a problem that outbreaks, like no matter how far you run, you always bring your problems with you. You can't just run away. It's always gonna come. And so Naomi was just trying to run away from her struggle and run away from problems and trials, but yet ended up bringing them with her. And so we now get to this, this part of the story in Ruth, chapter one, verse six through seven. And it says when Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by, by providing food for them in the midst of the famine, she and her daughters in law prepared to return home from there with her two daughters in law. She left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. And so, because Ruth, excuse me, Naomi, saw that God did provide for the people in Bethlehem and the people of Judah in the midst of the famine. She was thinking, my God, like, I thought you weren't going to show up. And I left just right when you did. And so Naomi, Ruth and Oprah make this plan to go back to Judah because they're childless and widowed and they need God. And so Naomi should have known that God was going to provide, but yet she fled in fear, in disobedience. And it shows why a lot of us run in the first place. And it's because we're either scared or we don't want to obey the things of God. And so she took her late son's wives under her belt. She went back because she just didn't want to hear the things of God. Like I love how it says when Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people, it just shows that Naomi didn't just want to hear what God did, but she wanted to receive what God did. So what did she do? She got up, got everything she. She needed to go back and return to God. And so it shows us that even though we make the deliberate choice to enemies of God, that there was still an open door for us to turn back and pers and pursue him. And so they get everything together. And the severity of Ruth and Naomi's position just kind of shows us kind of this lying tragedy therein. Which this is something I say all the time. Sometimes God will allow you to hit rock bottom for you to know that he is the rock. And Naomi and Ruth and Orpah hit rock bottom. Naomi lost her husband. Naomi lost her sons, AKA Ruth and Orpah's husbands. And because of that, they were both childless and widowed. They had no one to protect them. They had no one to get resources from them. They were the only they. They were there to only fend for themselves. And so the people who were. Or women who were widowed and childless were considered the lowest of the low. So not only were these people enemies of God's, but they also had a lack of resource. They were weak, they were impressionable, and they were vulnerable, essentially. And through this, Ruth, Naomi and Oprah, or mostly Naomi, saw the tragedies and was just, I know what, we're gonna get up and we're gonna go pursue God. And so what kind of ends up throughout this next part of the story is that Naomi, they're on their way to Bethlehem or to. To Judah. And Naomi just sat down, Orpah and Ruth and was like, you know what? I don't have much to offer y'all. I love y'all. And I. I have such a connection with y'all, but there is nothing I could give you because I am a widowed and a childless woman. I have nothing to offer whatsoever. And so through that, it said that Ruth and Oprah kissed her goodbye and they wept out loud and said to her, we will Go back with you and your people. But Naomi said, return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters. I am too old to have another husband. If I thought there was still hope for me, even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons, would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters, it is more bitter for me than for you because the Lord's hand has turned against me. Naomi was standing in a position to where she knew she was in the opposition of God. And she knew that she had became an enemy of God because she got up and left his provision to go pursue the opposing land. And so Orpah basically kissed Naomi goodbye and was like, okay, I'm going to listen to you and I'm going to go back to Moab. AKA she's going back to her old life. She's going back to the false idolization. She's going back to disobedience. She's going back to opposition with God. But Ruth's response, Ruth's response was a little different than Orpah's. And what Ruth said in just a moment, because my iPad shut out for some reason, but Orpah said, or sorry, Rue said, do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. This is kind of the part of Rue's story where everybody quotes it because it just shows her devotion towards Naomi and even how much love and compassion devotion she had towards her. And so this is admirable to the kingdom of God and even to God himself. Because even though Ruth was an enemy to God and was born as an enemy to God God, she still made the deliberate decision to go pursue the things of God because she had an admiration for Naomi and saw and heard about what God was doing for these people. And so what this shows us is that it shows us two different types of Christians when we're in the opposition of the Lord and you know it. And when we see Orpah, she was in disobedience with Gosh, it was from an opposing land, and so was Ruth. But the difference between them two was a difference of choice. And Oprah decided to go back to her old life. But Ruth, regardless of her old life and regardless of the circumstances, she made the decision to press forward and pursue the things of God, even a God that she didn't know completely, but that she just heard about and she decided to serve and go under somebody. And I love this story so, so much because it shows their affection towards Naomi, but they just acted differently. And I love that through this story, it shows that Ruth completely left her old life behind to pursue a new life in God, even if she didn't know exactly what all of that meant. And so Ruth died to her current condition in order to be made complete and new in this new life that God had in store for her. But she just didn't know it yet. And so Orpa left, she dipped out and she's gone. And then Naomi and Ruth, they're on their way to Bethlehem. And so they finally do arrive. And as they're arriving, she, they, they pull up and it says, where is it? When Naomi, when. When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came back to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the woman exclaimed, be Naomi. Don't call me Naomi. She told them, call me Mara. Because. Because the Almighty God has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me. The Almighty has brought misfortune upon me. So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter in law, arriving in Bethlehem as the. As the barley heart barely harvest was beginning. So that's the closing of chapter one. So set the scene. Naomi left Bethlehem, pursuit of life in the opposing land of God, lost everything and came back empty with an enemy, with another enemy of God, a Moabite woman, someone who was born into affliction, brought her back. And so even though we're seeing a lot of trials and tribulations, I think this just highlights that your struggle can completely be a setup and you may just not know it yet. And so Naomi and Ruth, they were struggling. Naomi especially struggled because she tasted and seen the things of God and then she bounced back. And I love how Ruth and Naomi, even though they turn back to God, Ruth and Naomi also represent two different Christians. Someone who loves the Lord and has always been in the will of God, but then stepped away and came back. But then Ruth, who was like, born into opposition to God and didn't know anything and was a complete enemy to him, also came back. So it shows that whether if you've known God for 10 years and felt and, and fallen very, very far away, from him, there's still an opportunity for you to reconcile with him. And even though you're a complete enemy to God and you're far on the other side, there's still an opportunity for you to come back into the things of God. Now, where does the Bible talk about this? It talks about it in the second chapter. So in the next chapter of Ruth, in chapter two, it talks about when the deposit finally hits. They were going through all this trials and tribulations, and now we're looking at the fruit of what they were just reaping for so, so long. And so now the title of this chapter is When Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Fields. We're going to find out who he is in a moment. It says now, Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the fields and pick up leftover grain behind anyone whose eyes I find favor. Naomi said to her, go ahead, my daughter. So she went out, entered a field, and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Emilik, just as Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. The. The. The Lord be with you. The Lord bless you, they answered. Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, who is that? Who does that young woman belong to? Okay, we're going to pause right here, and then we're going to go into the rest of the story. So Rue said that she was going to go glean into a field because she needed to gain food, obviously for her, her and her household, which is her and Naomi and only them only. And so because Ruth is of the lowest of the low, again widowed and childless, that means that she was only able to receive so little. And what it means to glean is that basically there were. There were farmers who were hosting and. And harvesting all these crops to where it was a Levitical law for them to leave certain harvest behind, or if they dropped any on the floor, for them to. To leave it so the poor could come after they had harvest everything, to then pick it up and feed their. And this is stated in Leviticus 19, 19, 20. It commands farmers in Israel that they should not completely harvest their fields. They were called to leave some harvest behind. Whatever they dropped on the floor was for those who they had gleaned. And so Ruth going to a field that just so happened to be Boaz's wasn't just a coincidence. It was the work of God. And so sometimes we're in tragic situations and we're looking on how we could, you know, move forward and see a positive outlook. And God will start putting us in situation situations to where we don't know it at the time, but it actually is Him. And so this field that Ruth was gleaning, and she didn't know at the time that, that this man, Boaz, God was going to use him to grant great favor upon her. And so I think it's even. It even shows us Ruth's attitude towards her going and working too. Because Ruth could have sat and moped and groaned all day about what to do next. But we see the attitude of Ruth. We see that the attitude of Ruth wasn't to just. Just sit around and complain or to be wearied by her state of mind, but instead she got up and she worked. And I think sometimes when we're in seasons that are very desolate and we're coming out of, you know, we just sinned against God and we're, we're an enemy to him because of we may have fallen short or fallen behind, and we're not pursuing the things of God and we're looking to be reconciled back into his heart. It's almost like sometimes we think that we have to have this super spiritual encounter in order to start being obedient or to pursue the things of God, when in this instance, Ruth just got up and went. And I think sometimes we could fail to do things for God when we just sit around and we're waiting all day for something that he has called and ordained for us to go up and just do you. And so Ruth, she had the heart to just get up and go. She knew she was in a new land. She knew there was work that needed to be done and God was going to partner with her faithfulness. And so we get to the next part of the story where I say I left it off to where Boaz said that he saw Ruth. And he said, who is that young woman? Who does she belong to? And the overseer replied, she is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters. She came into the fields and has remained here from morning till now except for a short rest in the shelter. So Boaz said to Ruth, my daughter, listen to me. Do not glean in another field and do not go away from here. Stay here with the woman who work for me. Who works for me. Watch the fields where the men are harvesting and follow along after the women. I have told the men to not lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled. At this she bowed with her face on the ground. She asked him, why have I found such favor in your eyes that you have noticed me, a foreigner? Boaz replied, I've been told about you and what you have done for your mother in law since the death of your husband. Now you left your father and your mother in your homeland to come live with a people you do not know before my God. This literally replicates us pursuing the things of God even though we grew up in a different circumstance, even though we had, you know, maybe a different family or a different upbringing, or maybe you lived a life or was born into a family that was very far from God. Ruth chose to leave her father and her mother and her old land to pursue a people that she doesn't even know. But she had hope in them because she heard what God has done in that land. And I love how Ruth made an impression on Boaz because she did a good job. Ruth made a good impression on Boaz because she worked well, she gleaned well, she served well. There was an intentionality behind what Ruth was doing. And I think sometimes we, we think we please God, you know, just simply by actions. But Ruth had an action accompanied by an intentionality. So I would even prompt the question of as we're growing and doing the things of God, and even though we feel like we're doing all the right things, are you doing it with a corre heart? Are you serving with a pure heart? Are you, are you gleaning and working with intentions that align with the heart of God? Or are you doing it for a selfish motive and ambition? I believe what this story is showing us is that not only did Boaz see the works that Ruth was doing, but he saw the heart of which Ruth was doing it at. And so Jesus looks at us in the same way. We could be working and doing the things for God all day, but the moment we do not have correct, correct intentions, it's all done in vain. And so it's a matter of knowing what the Bible says. Faith without works is dead. Is that is that works is, is a repercussion of faith because works is just the evidence of what you're already experiencing on the inside. And so Ruth didn't even know it yet, but she was a woman of Faith, because she had pure intentions. She wanted to serve, she wanted to help. She literally made this declaration in Naomi. She said, whoever your God is, is going to be my God. And whoever your people is, they're going to be my people now. Because Ruth was devoted to Naomi, she had a compassion for her. And through that compassion, that's going to make you want to leave any old thing and just pursue the new. And so God provided or continued to provide for Ruth and Naomi throughout the story. And after we see this encounter that Boaz has with Ruth, which is him basically granting her a whole bunch of favor, favor that you just don't get on a random Sunday, favor that is absolutely appointed by God, he said, I have found favor in you and you do not have to do all these things like how you once did, because I'm giving you a new, fresh win. I've seen how hard you've worked. I seen your intention. I seen that even though you went through a hard circumstance, you still went and served under your mother in law. And she didn't have to do it, but she did because she had a pure heart. And God is going to honor pure intentions that align with his will. And so after the story, Ruth came back, back with, with the favor and the, and the fruit of her hard work. She comes back to Naomi after this great day in Boaz's field and she has all this grain and all this harvest. And Naomi's like, where did you get all of this from? And she was like, oh, I met this great guy. His name's Boaz. He's amazing. And Naomi's like, I know that man. He was a relative of my late husband. And so this is when Naomi is like, look, this is only by God. And we are going to make sure, we're doing everything to make sure we keep in the rhythms of God. And so from that, God continued to provide for both Ruth and Naomi. Ruth ended up marrying Boaz in the third chapter and fourth. And then God had restored everything that has been lost, which is so, so, so, so beautiful. And we get later into the story in chapter three and four, where we see the details of their marriage, what God has done. Naomi gained a son, which was so beautiful. Just a lot of things that the Lord was doing through both Ruth and Naomi, all because they returned back to God. Okay, so what does this have to do with stepping into a new year and stepping into a new you? And if God is calling you to do all these things and you know, you lived a life of rebellion and now you're living a life of Christ like what does the story mean for us today? What I love most about the story of Ruth and Boaz is that it depicts and shows a very beautiful love story of how Ruth had a very tragic beginning and middle, but God ultimately restored her because she made a deliberate choice to follow him and even know what all of that really meant. And so the parallel of Ruth and Boaz is us being the bride of Christ in God is that whenever we. Because here's the thing, the moment you are born here on earth, you are an enemy to God because you are born into sin. You are born into transgressions and trials and things that are a part out of his perfect will. And we come and rest into the heart of the Father when we accept what Jesus has done on the cross. And our Boaz, as we are the bride of Christ, our Boaz is ultimately Jesus. It's God for when we have been sinful and when we have been left in the dirt and when we have been apart from God, he still loves us enough to pursue us and to fight for us. We just have to make the decision to turn back to Him. I. I love the thing that's always said is just like it's never us who is. It's never God who's truly far from us, it's always us who's far from God. We just get to choose how close we want to be with God. And I just want to give an encouragement that no matter how far you may feel from God, no matter what sin you may committed, even if you feel like it's the worst of the absolute worst, there's still redemption. I talked about this in the last season. I believe it was the episode God, please heal me. And I was talking about Ezekiel 33 and Joel 2. And Joel 2 talks about that God is going to restore everything that the locust has taken away. And the locust was inflicted by God's people originally. So how good is God that the affliction and sin that people caused upon themselves, that God will also take the responsibility to restore them? This is the same matter with Ruth. Because Ruth was willing, God was able to use that willingness to restore her and to redeem her through the things of God because she decided to pursue the things of God. Was Ruth perfect? Of course not that. Was Ruth a full on enemy? Yes. But she decided to leave her old life behind and pursue the life of Christ. And so my question for you is, is, are you willing to leave your old life completely? And what does that look like? I don't know what your past struggles is. I don't know if it's smoking or drinking or partying, if it's, you know, doing something that's grimy, gross, or if it's even just as little as, like, being addicted to social media or doing too much shopping or gossiping or being greedy or being pride. I don't know what it is. But are you willing to leave that old life and pursue a new one in Christ? Because you're able to pursue that each and every single morning, each and every single day. There is a new mercy, there is a new grace, and there's a new day. And I also want to encourage that. Ruth's obedience, it was so much bigger than just her and Naomi. It went for generations to come. And I think when we're disobedient and we're far from God, we just think of it as a personal thing. But it's also like the behalf of the generation that you're representing on your back. Because whenever you say yes to Christ, you're not just saying yes for yourself, but you're also allowing God to use you as a vessel and as a trailblazer for other people in your generation, for the lineage that's about to come out of you, for God to use it for the advancement of his kingdom. And so I want to encourage you that your yes to God is so much bigger than just you. You. If God has placed you on this earth just for the sole purpose for you and for your sake, then it would all be done in vain. The reason as to why the Lord keeps us and why he stewards us as vessels is because there's people who are connected to us who need Jesus, who need the word of the Lord. And there's a divine purpose that God is using, not just through you, but also through your bloodline. And this is supported through scripture, because as we go into Ruth, chapter four, we see the lineage and genealogy of David. What was this have to do with anything? Just bear with me. It says this, then, is the family line of Perez, aka Which is. Which is the. The lineage of. Of Ruth and Boaz. Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of. Of Amadad, and Nimadad the father of Nishun, Nishun the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. Why is this important? Because Jesus is a descendant of David. So God used Ruth and Naomi's repentance to fulfill the purpose and plan of God sending Jesus Christ. If it wasn't for the fact of Ruth and Naomi being obedient to the things of God, God wouldn't have been able to use them to send Jesus through their lineage. Jesus being born in Bethlehem was because of Ruth and Boaz, because Ruth was a Moabite, a enemy of God. And yet God used not just a woman, but an enemy to fulfill the, the, the purpose of bringing Jesus Christ here on the earth. If he's going to do that for Ruth, how much more is God going to redeem you? And there was, when we go into the times of when Jesus was born, there was a Roman census that required individuals to return to their ancestral town. So Mary and Joseph, and that, that literally was the, the cultivation as to why, why merit. Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem because they had to return back to their ancestral places. And Joseph was directly connected to David. That was like his great, great, great, great, great, great, great granddaddy. And this fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the city of Bethlehem, according to Malachi 5, 2. And I would just like to encourage you that your obedience isn't just for the sake of yourself, but it's for the sake of who you are connected to and mostly for the sake of God. And just to close this out, why I love, I keep saying I just love this story because I do. But Boaz truly does reflect the character of Jesus fully and he reflects Jesus because while we were sinless, while we were an enemy of God, while we were far away, he still looked at us, us, even though we were dead in sin and a straight up enemy, and decided that there was enough compassion that he had upon us to redeem us. And so only you know what you've committed and the things that you've done that have caused enmity between you and God. But allow the Lord to give you the revelation, just like Ruth and Boaz, that if you turn away from your old life, life, and if you're sinking a new one in Christ, he's going to honor and restore you because of your repentance. And so let that be a motivation for this new year, that as we're stepping into the, the things that God has for us in this new season, as we push forward and press towards the mark, don't bring the old life in a new season. Leave it behind because God is calling you higher. It's just a matter of, of crucifying your flesh, leaving it where it's Supposed to be left and pursuing a new life which is found in God. And when I tell you that, it is so refreshing to know that you have an opportunity to start over through repentance. Repentance isn't just a hey, God, I'm sorry, it's hey, God, I apologize. And I'm fully turning away from my old life and I'm pursuing new life in you, Jesus. And through that, you get to experience a fresh start. A fresh start. One that holds no grudges, one that is not holding you to an expectation, one that is just. That is just one that is just pushing you to the things of God. And that's that at the core. And so let us encounter newness in God through the depths of our lives and giving God our all. What was so beautiful about Ruth and why she was redeemed and restored the way that she was, was, was because she gave the God that she did not know her entire all. How much do you actually give for God? Are you giving God all that you got? Are you not seeing breakthrough because you're not giving as much as you should? I don't care if it's serving. I don't care if it's crucifixion and surrendering a part of your life. Are you truly giving God everything that you got? If you are, then okay, different story. Maybe God's using your your pain for purpose. But if you haven't, maybe that's why you're not seeing breakthrough in certain aspects of your life. Because there's a part of you that's hesitant to giving God everything. Because there could be pride or fear or abandonment or neglect or anger or wrath towards God. But God wants to restore you, redeem you. If you just leave all those things behind and you pursue the things of him and give everything you got. Like how I said, God's not asking for perfection, he's just asking for progression. Are you willing to just do the things of God knowing that it's not going to be perfect? Because who is perfect is his Son. It's just a matter of embracing the cross and embracing what Jesus has done for you. Because the more that you embrace what Jesus has done, you're going to stop trying to permit and do everything in your power when that complete, perfect strength is made new and it's found in Jesus and in Jesus alone. And that's really that go in an encouragement that God has called you to new life. It's just a matter of you, you denying and leaving your old one. Let me close out real Quick, thank you guys for listening to this episode. God is very, very good. Yeah, this is obviously just really special. And I would encourage you to not only just listen to this episode, but take it and study it. Like, don't just take what Emmy has to say, because this isn't Emmy's word. This is God's word. If you feel like the Lord is ministering to you, it's just a matter of opening up your Bible and reading the story for yourself, yourself and allowing God to speak through you. Amen. So a few announcements and then we're going to be done. First and foremost, if you have been saved through this podcast or if you need prayer, there is a link down below. If you feel led to tithe, there's also a link down below. There's no pressure, though. I accept prayers more than anything. There's literally no pressure too. It's just if God has made an impression upon your heart. Also, if you feel led to tithe or donate towards Malik and I's ministry moving forward and what God is doing through our marriage, there's also a link down below. Same thing. No pressure. It's. It's mostly for family and friends, but a lot of you guys have also asked for it, so we just made it available for you. But most of all, we just really appreciate prayer and being surrounded in, in, in, in. In the security of God's people and the prayers that they're releasing. And lastly, if you want some merchandise, save not soft shop shop.com to get some new merch merch, there's going to be a lot more fun stuff coming out that's not just T shirts, which I'm really excited for, but we had to do the T shirts for a little while just to pull out the cool stuff in the archives. But God is good and I'm very pleased of what he's doing through this. So until then. Oh, and also, last announcement, we will also for season three be posting weekly instead of bi weekly. So instead of once every two weeks, it's now going to be every single Tuesday, which I know you guys are probably going to be so hyped liked about it. So yeah, I think that's all I have. But I love you guys. The Lord loves you even more. Get into your word. Know that he loves you, that he wants to redeem you and that he looks at you and he has such a beautiful compassion upon you. So go blessed and I'll see you next week. Bye, you guys. Bye.