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- [00:01]
A
Amen. Amen. Did you come with some expectation? I know that you did. You're in the room.
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Are you grateful? Are you expectant? Are you excited? Are you ready to be transformed by the power of his word? Thank you, Lord.
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Thank you, Lord. What a time, y'. All. You made it in the room. That's no small thing. As PR mentioned, you know, Mother's Day sometimes can have a sting. So while some are celebrating, some are crushed. While some are going home to families and fun, creating memories, some are going home to face loss and loneliness. And no matter where you are, Elroy, he sees you, he's with you, and he's carrying you. And I believe that I have a word today, and I'm excited. And I believe that whenever you leave here, you will understand there. That's why I was in the room today. That's why I had to turn on Social Global Watch Party room. That's why I had to get there. And so, Father, once again, we seal this. We give this to you. We pray that you would speak through this word. Touch our hearts, transform us, renew us, sift us, make us better, make us become like you are ready. In Jesus name, everyone said amen and amen. You can be seated. Thank you, Worship Team, for being the best worship team on the planet. We are currently in a relationship series. Y' all love the relationship series. Y' all show up for that. And last week, PR Preached such an incredible, timely word that I feel will mark our house forever. He titled his message the Man. And there were so many incredible men that responded, and they made the decision to honor women and to lead their families and to love the Lord with all of their heart. And I believe it was a transformative Sunday. And so today, as I take the stage and carry part two of this series, I felt it necessary to title my message the Woman We Need. I love women. And as I was processing, okay, I'm going to teach on the woman we need. What woman? What female in the Bible should I share from? And there were so many that I didn't know which to choose from. And Deborah came to my mind because Deborah was the first female judge, the only female judge mentioned in the word of God. She was a leader of all leaders. She was strong, she was resilient, she was wise, and she led Israel into victory, and she was amazing. But then I just couldn't settle there. So then I started thinking about Joanna. I said, you know what? Joanna was a boss. She was one of the women that funded Jesus ministry. So she's like, Jesus you need a place to stay, I got you, Jesus. You need some food and clothing and supplies, I got you. You do what you were put on this earth to do, and I'm gonna take care of you. What a boss. What a woman. But I didn't land with Joanna. The Lord, the Holy Spirit, I believe, led me to an incredible book by the name of Ruth. Yeah, Ruth. If you know Ruth, you love Ruth. To know Ruth is to love Ruth. And so today, I want to set the stage for two women by the names of Naomi and Ruth. These women give us a picture of the woman that we need. Ruth is a book in the Old Testament, and it holds four chapters. It is a beautiful, captivating story of redemption, of grace. Read it when you get to the crib. It's so, so rich. And I was telling Pastor Robert, I have so much content. I don't know where to cut, because it's so rich. It's about a woman named Naomi. She's married to a man named Elimelech. They have two sons, and they all live in Bethlehem. A severe famine and has hit Israel. This is a disaster. It is a devastating time because crops are failing year after year. Friends and family and loved ones are dying. It's becoming chaotic because people are desperate. So this family is trying to decide whether to stay and trust that things will turn around eventually or leave and risk everything. There's no clear right or wrong answer, because if they flee from the famine and fix the food problem, it now opens the door for other issues, because they're leaving Bethlehem, what they've always known, and they're headed to Moab now. They're losing the safety within their community, their belonging, their comfort, their land. They're leaving it all behind. The journey. It's very important to understand this. The journey would have been emotionally and physically exhausting. They were traveling through the terrains and hoping they would find water, hoping they would still eat, hiding from potential people that were trying to steal or rob. Because it was such a chaotic time. People were desperate. It was emotionally exhausting because, yes, they're leaving for food, but also they're leaving behind their whole lives. Will they even make it to Moab? This was not an easy decision. Some theologians, they judge Elimelech because they said, how could he ever leave? But if I'm hungry and I have a family to provide for and there's no food, I'm going to go where the food is. So this was not an easy decision. And Elimelech is feeling the pressure. They're feeling Naomi's feeling the pressure. The sons are feeling the pressure. And the pressure leaves them with no other option. We cannot survive here. We have to go. So the pressure actually positions them. The famine fuels them. So the famine was the fuel in the storyline. Pressure and loss and hunger. It makes you do crazy things. Things that you didn't know you were capable of, things that you never thought you would do. It'll send you places you never thought you would go. Hunger, it changes some things. And so where are my foodies at? In the room. You love food. We love food. Somehow food always makes it into one of my messages. Every single time I gotta talk about it.
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So.
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So PR And I used to travel every single week. And I've almost lost my marriage over food. I have almost missed a flight over food. And this is the part. One day we were running late and we were on our way. We had about five minutes to get to the gate. And we're running because we run through the airport because we're always late. So we're running, but then all of a sudden, I started to smell a buttery biscuit. And then I started imagining. You know, your imagination could be your biggest enemy. I started imagining the chicken leg that Popeyes Chicken provided. You know, then the fries dipped in the ketchup. It just was drawing me to go. And so PR Is like, I'm not going to miss the flight. You go, bye. So I'm like, whatever. My metabolism, I need food. If a flight is 45 minutes or longer, I need a whole buffet.
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So I stopped by.
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Long story short, get. Get the food, run into the gate. I do make it in time. Hallelujah. The Lord was on my side, but I was willing to miss the plane so I could get my food. Food will make you do some crazy things. Hunger will make you do some crazy things. And hunger isn't bad. Hunger is human. However, it's what you do with your hunger that matters. Maybe you're hungry for a relationship. Where are you going to find that relationship? Maybe you're seeking affirmation. Where are you going to seek the affirmation from? Is there anyone today that's in a famine season? There has to be. Maybe it's not literal food, but maybe it's a spiritual famine. You're looking for the Lord. You're told to seek him, you're told to find Him. You're told to come to church, but you don't feel him, you don't hear him, you don't see him. And you feel like you're in a spiritual Famine. Or maybe you're in a relational famine. Maybe someone walked away, someone betrayed you, and you feel empty on the inside. What do you do in a famine season? The famine must become your fuel. I know that it's hard. I know that you feel empty. I know that you feel betrayed. I know that you don't know where the next paycheck's coming from. I know it can be terrifying. You're hungry, you're in a famine. And today I want to speak over your life that no longer will the famine fuel fear, but the famine will fuel faith. We see famine fueling faith in this physical famine. 12 year physical famine with the woman with the issue of blood. She was isolated, she was alone, she was exhausted, she was weary. And yet the 12 year physical famine fueled her to seek through the crowds, to walk down the streets, to find the Savior of the world, Jesus, the one hope that could heal her body. She pressed past, she touched the hem of his garment, and she was healed. The famine fueled her. It moved her forward. Today you cannot stay where you are. You must move. And so they leave Bethlehem and they make it to Moab, and they settle there. A story. This story takes a turn for the worse because Elimelech, the father, Naomi's husband, he dies. Naomi and her two sons are left, and the two sons married. Two Moabite, Orpah and Ruth. These women, they had different cultures, they had different gods, they had different beliefs, they had different systems. Everything was different. And yet they married them. And then 10 years later, both sons die too. This is devastating because now Naomi is a widow. She's lost both sons. No one should have to bury their children. She's in a foreign land. She has no male protection or inheritance rights tied only to her Moabite daughters in law. This is about as hard as life could get for her. Naomi is heartbroken. She hears that there's food again in Bethlehem. And so her Orpah and Ruth, they head out back to Bethlehem. On the way, Naomi, she all of a sudden changes her mind. She doesn't want them to come with her anymore, she wants them to stay. So she says, no, I have nothing to offer you.
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Go back.
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Some say that she was annoyed or emotional, or she wanted to be alone. And while, yes, I could see that, I actually see through a different lens. I think Naomi is a survivor. She's the survivor of her family. And just because she survived, it doesn't mean that she's strong. Yes, she's strong. We get it. She survived. But she's weak because she's exhausted. And because life has been hard and life has been unfair, she didn't ask for the famine. She didn't ask for her husband to die. She didn't ask for her boys, her sons to die. And so life has been hard, and it's made her weak. And yet she survived. And we celebrate that. But she's tired. She survived, but she is shattered. Life can shake you. Life can shatter you into a million pieces and make you wonder, will I ever be okay? I have a tree in my yard, and I planted the trees. And so excited to get the apples from the tree, get the plums from the tree. You know, I'm a gardener, and I planted the tree. And they say here, three to five, that you'll start to see the fruit, the blooms. So this was the year I was supposed to see the blooms. And summer came, spring came, winter came, or fall came. And then winter came. And it's winter season. And the winter in dfw, it was pretty brutal. The ice storm hit, and it was beautiful. I love the snow, but it was hard on the tree. So here comes spring again. I had to prune it. I'm like, okay, I hope it survived. And all of a sudden, I began to see little leaves come out. And I'm like, yes, it survived. And so now I'm counting down until I start to see blooms. You know, the sun's been out, the weather's great. I know I'm about to see some blooms, which means I'm about to get some plums. Well, I look out a couple months later, and there's no blooms. The tree's alive. It survived the winter, but there's no blooms. And while I was disappointed, I also realized that the tree is currently in recovery. It will bloom. It is alive. It is still standing. However, the tree needs some time to recover from the winter storm. The plum tree will bloom again. It's just currently in recovery. And in today's text, we see that Naomi is in recovery. And some of you today are in recovery. And that's okay, because you're alive and you're still standing, and you will bloom again in due time. One thought is that Naomi, she is sad, and I have so much compassion for her. But there is a moment in the story where she begins to blame God for her pain. And that's concerning because she goes back and they say, naomi's back. And she says, no, no, no. She changes her name to Mara, which means bitter. And so because she didn't see the bloom, she became bitter and blamed God, and I think you have to be so careful in moments where you're waiting seasons where you're waiting to see the bloom, you are alive. The blooms aren't there yet. They're coming.
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They're on the way.
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Be careful not to rename yourself. It's one thing when God gives you a new name, but when you give yourself a new name, you have to be so careful, you will bloom again. So as they're traveling back, Orpah, the other daughter in law, she decides to actually go back to Moab. She takes Naomi's advice and she goes back. But ruth. Ruth. Verse 14, it says, but Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. Another version says Ruth held on to her. Ruth says, don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people and your. Your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us. When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. So Ruth here steals the storyline and teaches us four things. So imagine that Ruth is teaching this class because our lives teach our lives preach everything that we do. People are watching. So be careful what you do and watch your behavior. But today, Ruth takes the stage and she begins to teach us of the woman that we need. The woman we need is a woman who will, number one, make God her God. So many things in our lives would be fixed if we would just start there. We're trying to fix other people, we're trying to fix our finances, we're trying to fix our relationships. And yet God is not our God. And if God is not your God, that's everything that is out of order. It will not work. And so first and foremost, we need a woman that will make God her God. Ruth 1:16, it says, you, God will be my God. So Ruth is establishing right here. She's not just physically leaving Moab, she is spiritually leaving Moab. She is no longer worshiping other gods. She wants the one and only true God. And her actions prove that. When you say God is your God, you come under his authority and follow his word. A lot of people say they love God, but their lives don't say they love God. And that's a problem. You come in on Sunday and you lift your hands, you're in the house of God. And that's great, you're here. We love that you're here. We celebrate that you're here. But what does the fruit of your life look like? What does the fruit of your life look like? Do your actions speak louder than words? You forgive the person that hurt you not because they deserve it, but because he gave his life so you could forgive. That's hard. You extend grace to the parent who just isn't playing their role like you think they should, and you honor them still. Wait, what? You honor them still. Why? Because God says to honor your father and mother, period. He doesn't say if they're performing like you want them to. He says, honor them. Now, here's the thing. I don't know what your situation is, and some are a little bit more complicated than others, but I believe that the Holy Spirit will honor you as you honor. That doesn't mean allow them in your life. It doesn't mean you don't wrestle with the challenges that come with that. But honor God by honoring them, and he will honor you. Ruth's actions speak louder than her words. And it made me think of a season in my life where I was challenged to do just that. PR And I dated on and off for six years. Hallelujah. Bless the Lord on my soul. Hallelujah. Felt a little twitch on that. It was great. It was necessary. Promise. The Lord was working on myself and PR and we were on and off. And there was a moment where I felt the Lord inviting me in an off season and inviting me into a year of no dating. He said, give me one year and do not date. I was like, okay. And so I did. And I spent a lot of nights, lonely nights, nights with the Lord in my word, praying and seeking the Lord. And as I was seeking the Lord, he was transforming me. And so about 10 months into my year, I get a call and it's Robert. And he's like, hey. And, you know, it's funny, because we were always meant to be, you know, we were always meant to be. And when he called me, I loved him. No matter the distance, no matter the time that went by, I always loved him so much. And so when I heard from him, I was excited. And we're catching up on life, and he's like, hey, come out and see me. I'm in school now, so I go out to Fort Worth, and we're hanging out, and it's just so good to see him. And probably an hour goes by, and, you know, there's that chemistry, there's that connection that we always had. And I can tell he wanted to kiss me. And guess what? I wanted to kiss him.
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Too.
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But in the back of my head was, you've given God a year. And so, shockingly, I literally say, well, it's time for me to go. It's so good to see you. I hope you have a great day. And I leave without kissing the man that I love so much, loved him so much, would have given anything to be in his arms and for him to kiss me. But you know what? I love God more. And I committed a year to the Lord.
- [20:37]
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And so I walked out of that
- [20:39]
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space as hard as it was, knowing that I'm going to practice what I preach. My actions will be louder than my words. I will honor God. God will be my God. The woman we need is a woman who will number two, do hard things. Ruth is leaving behind what is familiar, what is comfortable, what she has always known to step into the unknown. She is leaving her country, her culture, her comfort, her family, her friends, her support system. Familiar is comforting, but the scary part about familiar is that familiar can feel safer than freedom. What is your familiar that is actually keeping you bound? It's comfortable you're here, it's the way it's always been, and yet you don't even realize you're bound. Some thoughts that come to my mind are people that I hear it's pretty common, is living with a man that isn't your husband, building a family, having kids together, although you know it is not right. You know it's not biblical. You're afraid of moving out because how are you going to pay the rent? How are you going to co parent? How do you take care of the kids? We're not in covenant. But what is next? Your kids are watching you. They are learning from you. And I understand it's hard and it's scary. And I'm not here to condemn you or judge you. I'm here to call you higher. Because I want you to live in the fullness of what God has for you. Because the way you date is the way you'll marry. If you date out of order, your marriage will feel out of order. If you're not honoring God while you date, while you wait, while you work, you will reap the fruit of that. You need to understand that. You will reap that. I cannot plant an apple tree and get peaches. Be careful what you're planting. Be careful what you're sowing. 1st Samuel 2:30 says, those who honor me, I will honor. Do the hard thing. Because although it's hard, it honors God. And when you honor God, he will honor you. Number three. A Woman that we need is a woman who is submitted but not silenced. Ruth was submitted, and she also had some things to say. Ruth 3, 7. We see a beautiful picture of submission. After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet and laid down. Around midnight, Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet. Who are you? He asked. I am your servant, Ruth, she replied. Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family Redeemer. This is a beautiful picture of submission. She's at his feet, which reveals that she had a confident submission. Ruth could confidently submit because Boaz was a man. She could confidently trust. Submission and trust are directly connected. A woman will submit when a woman can trust Paul. In Ephesians 5:21, he says, Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This is before he goes into the details of husband and wives. Submit all the things he says. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, which means to serve one another, to love one another, to hear one another, to listen to one another. So Ruth could rest at Boaz's feet. Because Boaz had proven his character, Boaz protected her in the fields when she was out there working. He saw her. He respected her. He honored her. Boaz honored women. He didn't say he honored women. He actually lived it out. Boaz spoke kindly and gently. He even calls her his daughter at one point, because Boaz is actually a picture of Jesus. And so PR preached this last week that the Holy Spirit convicted him one time, whenever he was talking to me, said, wait. Treat Taylor like you treat your own daughters. With care, with sensitivity, with tenderness. Boaz, he created safety. I have to be honest. If you're married or if you're dating or women feel so unsafe whenever men you are mean or demeaning or degrading or you say you love me, but then you're watching porn throughout the week. I immediately feel unsafe. There's a call to hire. God is available and he's willing to help you. But you're mad at your wife because you feel she's not submissive, but she can't trust you because you're looking at other women or you're sliding into other women's DMs. I don't feel safe, so I'm not going to submit. Take care of your wife. Treat her with respect and honor. Treat all women with respect and Honor. Boaz had integrity. Her submission was not fear based. It was trust based. Ruth could trust Boaz, and he did not silence her. I love that he could have just said, go away. You're weird. You're at my feet. What are you doing? But he asked her a question and allowed her to talk as she expressed. You are my family redeemer. So he didn't silence her. But I do have to be honest sometimes, ladies, we need to be silenced. We do. I know this hurts, but it's gonna start with me. Cause I got a lot I have to say. Okay? I have a lot to say to pr. Sometimes I love that the word. As I'm reading the word, it starts with me. I was reading Proverbs, and the Bible punched me in the face. And then it punched me again. And then it punched me again and again. And I said, lord, help me, Holy Spirit, Spirit, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He says, it is better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. I said, oh, I feel that Holy Spirit. Then he says, repeats himself, better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. Ah, I felt it again on the other side, you know? Then he goes on to say, a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. I said, oh, not the rainy day. I love rainy days. Then better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. Do y' all feel it? We get it. Okay? We get it, Solomon. So, ladies, when we nag, they withdraw. So we have to do better. May our words lift them. May we call it out. Not saying to be silent, call it out, but call them up. Call them higher. And lastly, the woman we need is a woman who will hold the line. The powerful part of this whole story is that Ruth wasn't just holding on to Naomi. You see her passion in the moment. You see, whoa. What's happened is she is committed. Ruth didn't even realize what she was doing, but she was actually holding onto the lineage of Jesus. Because of Ruth's faithfulness. She helped preserve the family line that led to King David, that ultimately led to King Jesus. Ruth and Boaz, they've been in the field. She's been at his feet. Long story short, they get married, and they give birth to a boy named Obed. The book of Ruth, it ends with telling us the family line. That's how. That's the. The finale of. Of the book. The whole Book. It's Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab. Aminadab was the father of Na. Na was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David. Someone say hold the line. Hold the line. Ruth. She didn't know what she was holding on to, but she was holding the line for Jesus. I'm so grateful. Who's grateful? For Ruth that she held the line. Hold the line. This phrase goes back centuries, to a battlefield strategy. Soldiers were often arranged in lines, and commanders would literally order them to hold the line, meaning don't retreat or break formation, even under attack, because if the line broke, it could lead to chaos or defeat.
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Hold the line.
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Say, hold the line.
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Hold the line.
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Some of you are holding the line right now. You don't know what's on the other side of it. But I'm telling you, God has sent
- [29:29]
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me here today to remind you, don't give up. Don't shrink back. Hold the line for your family. Hold the line for your marriage. Hold the line for your spouse. Hold your. Hold the line for the. The one that has walked away. Hold the line.
- [29:43]
A
And I'm closing with this story. I have a friend named Hannah. They're fostering parents. They committed to doing this and they knew that the Lord had called them to do this. And they get their first call that there's a baby named Sa and they're going to bring him. And they bring him. They had baby, newborn baby Psy for six months. Over time, they fell in love with Psy. Out of nowhere, they get a call that CPS is coming and they're getting signed. They're going to take him away. They're devastated. Hannah said that the. The walk from the front door to the car felt like miles. They. They knew they would never see him again, but he didn't know he would never see him again. They were all he had ever known. And whenever she sent him, he was not going to a Christian family. And so they made a quilt and they stitched scripture and declarations, thoughts and encouraging words into the quilt and then they covered it. Because if the family, where they were going had seen there were scriptures in there, they would have thrown the quilt away. So they hid it with a covering and they sent baby Sigh. And they said, we trust you, God, with his life. Thank you for the greatest opportunity of our lives, to love him for Six months. And they sent him away. Life continued. And they grieved and they prayed. They never stopped praying for Psy. All of a sudden, 11 months later, they get a call from CPS. They said, hey, the family wants you to take Psy. They want you to have him. So out of nowhere, Baby Psy shows up at the front doorstep again. And it's just Baby Psy and his quilt. And Baby Psy had so much meth in his system, it was as much as a grown man. That's what actually the doctor said. And because of the drugs, because of the meth, because of his life, they said he would never walk, he would never talk, he wouldn't go to school, he wouldn't be normal. Well, guess what? Today, Baby Sigh is grown, and he's talking and he's walking and he goes to school and he's normal. And let me show you this. Because why? Because Hannah and his family was holding the line for Baby Sal. Let me show you the quilt. This is the quilt that they had. And that's the outer layer of the quilt. Let me peel back that outer layer and show you what was inside that quill. You are blessed.
- [32:09]
B
I rebuke fear in the name of Jesus. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Nobody comes to the Father, but by Jesus, he is the way. Jesus, watch over this boy. Mighty man of God, you are called. You are equipped. You are mighty. Jehovah, Jehovah, Jireh, Jehovah, Shalom. Hold the line. They held the line. They didn't know what was on the other side.
- [32:36]
A
They thought they would never see him again. But they prayed and they endured and they travailed over his life. They held the line. And I don't know who I came today for to share this simple message. Everyone, stand to your feet. But the woman we need is a woman who's willing to hold the line even when it's uncertain, even when it doesn't make sense, even when you feel forgotten, even when it looks terrible. Hold the line. It's important that we, as women and men, you can try everything. But if you don't make God your God, everything will fail. And I'm telling you that. So today I want every. Every head bowed, eyes closed. If you want to make God your God in this room today, I want you to raise your hand and we make a public declaration that God, you will be my God. As I lead my family, as I go into the workplace, you must be my God. And I want you to repeat this prayer after me. Father, I thank you that you are my God. Forgive me for elevating anything else above you. You are my God. You are my savior. You are my king. And I will follow you all the days of my life. Cleanse me, wash me white as snow, and have your way in Jesus name. Amen and amen and amen. And I just want to partner with you right now. If you're believing God for someone in your family, if you're. If you're in a famine season and you need a miracle, God, we thank you for the strength that is happening in this room right now. We thank you that nothing or no one is too far gone. That we establish today that we stand in the gap. God, we stand in the gap. We hold the line for those that are on the other side of our fight. We believe, God, that you're making a way where it looks impossible. We believe that you're restoring relationships, that you're giving us the capacity and the ability to forgive again and again and again. You're giving us the capacity to do the hard things, even though it doesn't make sense. Because we honor you, God. Have your way. We come with confidence. We come with excitement and expectation because it is so. It is so in Jesus name and everyone says, said. Amen. Happy Mother's Day, family. Love y' all so much.
- [35:05]
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Come on, social fan. Can we thank Pastor Taylor for that word? Come on. Y' all could do better than that. This room watch. Party room. Look at somebody next to you and say, hold the line. Come on. Look at another neighbor say, hold the line. You don't have a clue who is on the other side of you holding the line. Come on. It might have ran on your family. How many are you thankful? It can stop with you. It can stop with you. Hold the line.