from the pulpit at Donnels Creek

Date: May 25, 2025

Lord’s Day: 21

Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ

Title: Delivered and Transferred

Text: Colossians 1:12-14

A quick review from last week we were in Colossians 1:12-14 and we were dealing with the end of verse 13:

“12 giving thanks[d] to the Father, who has qualified you[e] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

The phrase, “of his beloved Son,” was our focus.  This is the mystery of Colossians, this word that appears frequently.  That what once was hidden, “created from before the ages for our glory.  That none of the ruler understood this mystery, for if they had they would not have crucified our Lord and Savior.”  (1 Cor 2:6-8)

Why did the Father love the Son so much?  What is the significance of this love?

We can look at the book of Matthew.  We see the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham:

The difference?  Abraham did not trust.  Israel did not trust.  Adam and Even did not trust.  Jesus, the begotten trusted, at every point where we were unsuccessful, Jesus was successful.  Jesus was obedient at every turn and trusted the Father.

How did we get in this position where we did not trust?  What happened to Abraham, Moses, the Israelites and even us today that we got ourselves in a position of not trusting, not having faith and in rebellion?

This is the significance of the next phrase that we will focus on today.  The beloved Son did something.  The actions of the beloved Son had consequences.  What were those consequences?  For us specifically:

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom” 

This is our phrase today that will gather our attention. We have been delivered; delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to a kingdom.

What took place for this to happen?  What does this mean?  How, or in what way, are we delivered?

Before we begin looking into these questions on this phrase, let us ask for a blessing for the message.

PRAY

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness.”  In what way did He deliver us?  What is the domain of darkness?

The word used there for dominion means authority, power or right to control or govern.  It can be a ruler, human or supernatural. 

In our circumstance we were under control or governed by a force.  According to our text it was a dark force.  A domain of darkness.  A controlling governing authority of darkness.

But we must be careful in how we understand this.  There is in one sense a power of evil over us and in another sense that power was just a place holder.

I can explain it this way:

A number of years ago I purchased a property and I was super excited.  I made more than enough money at the time to own a home but I did not have the amount of down payment needed. 

This particular individual had inherited the house from his parents, and he did not want anything to do with it.  He wanted to live in Florida, so we came to an agreement.  We agreed on the terms, the price and the money down needed.  We would enter a land contract and after 16 years the property would be solely owned by me. 

I moved in (tell the story, history, renovations, plans).

Point: I had no power.  In reality, HE had let things go to the point that he had no power.  I was living in that property, and I could pay him thousands of dollars but he had no power.  He could not get me out of the situation that I was in.  He had taken a loan on a property I was paying on.  Of course, I was ignorant of what was needed legally for my protection.  I could do nothing but honor the sovereign over the property (the bank).  They are the ones to WHOM the debt was owed.

This is the situation here in our text.  We can go back to our Easter sermon and we briefly touched on this thing called redemption. 

To whom was redemption owed?  To whom was redemption paid?  Many would answer that this “power of darkness”, this enemy of ours we call Satan, was the one to whom Jesus paid the debt.

Before being believers, we were absolutely in the DOMAIN of darkness.  We were in the area, sphere or jurisdiction of darkness.  But Jesus did not pay Satan for our redemption.

We use like words ransom and redemption in salvation.  These are true words.  We were redeemed and we were ransomed.

But when we think of ransom, what typically comes to mind is a kidnapping like situation.  To get the person that has been kidnapped we are asked to pay a ransom.

Thomas Hargrove was an American who worked for The Center for International Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Columbia.  He wrote the story of his captivity in the book Long March to Freedom in which, because of his badge (CIAT), he was kidnapped by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia).

The FARC is always looking for ways to finance their operation.  Kidnapping is one and they thought they had a golden ticket in Thomas Hargrove.  They took him and demanded a $6 million ransom.

The United States government, because they do not negotiate with terrorist organizations (for good reasons), did not intervein.  The American company that Hargrove worked for but him lose and left him for dead.

He was in captivity for 11 months.  In the jungles of Columbia sleeping on the muddy floors of his hut with jail bars, he suffered malnutrition and illness as he endured the elements. 

A hostage negotiator came in, paid for by his wife and family to begin negotiations of getting him released.  Eventually, the price was lowered to two payments and then they let him go.

This is typically what comes to mind when those words redeemed or ransomed are used.  In relation to the Christian faith, just like the ransom was paid to the FRC, it is seen as paid to our enemy the devil.  This is not the case.

The devil is not sovereign.  God is sovereign.  The sin of Adam was committed against God.  At the point of sin, the wage of sin had to be paid to God.  Satan’s only authority was he ruled over the domain of darkness.  The debt was not due to him.  He did not kidnap us.  We left willingly.

How do I place us in the sin of Adam.  Let’s see Romans 5 for the answer to our question:

“8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:8 & 12)

We are included in this.  The prince of the air, as he is described in Ephesians 2, was our ruler.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

You and I were not half-dead.  We were as dead as Lazarus.  We were past four days and in the words of the KJV, “We stinketh”. 

This is the result of the fall of Adam.  Being in the grasp of the devil, we, like him, were enemies of God.  We were children of wrath.  In the dominion of darkness.

Can you imagine if those alive knew that every unrighteous act they have committed they will be held in account?  For every violent thought, for every lustful fantasy, for every deceit that was both spoken and unspoken, for every vile notion, word and deed there will be an accounting before God.  For every single moment that you put your needs above God, when you have not loved him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, for when you have put off that prayer, for when you came to assembly but you really rather stay away, there will be an accounting for that.

If this was known they would be beating the doors of this building to get in because the ONLY relief is in Jesus.  Jesus absorbs the wrath we deserve.    He justifies and God is just through the sacrifice of His beloved. 

It is in Christ that we are transferred from this domain, this area of darkness to the kingdom of light.  In whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sin.  This is why we meet.  This is why we praise.  This is why we sing.  I want you to feel it.  I want you know feel the weight lifted.

Jesus, the beloved Son, paid the Father the price we owed.  Jesus was beloved, as we learned last week and also, as we began today’s time together, because as incarnate, born in “likeness of sinful flesh,” (Romans 8:3) he was fully faithful and believing.  He was a pleasing aroma to the Father and He took our place as a perfect lamb.

For every act of unfaithfulness in your life Jesus was faithful.  For all the times you had no idea you offended God, He was faithful.  He absorbed ALL the wrath due to you. 

He has transferred you to the kingdom of righteousness.  That is where you are and that is the message we want to take to the community. 

Do you believe that?  Do you believe that God can transform the mess around us?  Do you believe that God can transform the mess in your own family?  If you don’t maybe you have not fully experienced your own transformation.

The word is passive voice which means, you are not doing it.  He is doing it.  He has:

“qualified (us) to share in the inheritance of the saints,” (Colossians 1:12b) and is “delivering us from darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of his beloved son.” (Colossians 1:13)

I have seen what He has done in my life.  I see what He continues to do.  I am certain what is seen by me is only a fraction of a fraction, but it is enough to know.  As believers, you and I are forever changed.

Magnus Carlsen, the reigning world champion, who has showcased brilliant king-and-pawn coordination in numerous endgames. His ability to maneuver his king to shield a passed pawn and ensure promotion has been praised by chess analysts.

This is the process by which the king (the most important piece on the chess board) is used to protect and promote the pawn (the least important piece) to the other side of the board.  In chess, when a pawn reaches the other side, it can be taken off and replaced by another piece.

Most often the queen, who is the most aggressive piece on the board, if she has been taken, will relace the pawn. 

From Pawn to Queen.  This is be taken from weakest to strongest. 

This is the act of Jesus in your life.  King Jesus empowers us. 

Date: May 18, 2025

Lord’s Day: 20

Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ

Title: The Mystery of God’s Love

Text: Colossians 1:12-14

Introduction:  Pick and Roll celebration at Chesapeake High.

Point:  There are things we desire to remain hidden, things we do not want others to see, especially when it is the entire town on television.

The tittle of this series is Colossians, the Mystery of Christ. If you have read this small book (which was your homework), you will have noticed that this word appears on repeat.

The love of our Lord was made manifest in Jesus.  Paul wrote of this mystery of God’s love in 1 Corinthians as well.  This mystery was so hidden that even our enemy, the devil himself, did not understand or see. 

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:6-8

I want you to see how much God loves you.  I want you to be encouraged and moved.  We see this love in how much He has loved the Son.  This is the mystery that is unfolding in Colossians.  The hidden, mystery of Christ and we will begin to unfold this today. 

Pray

Today’s focus is on 1:13-14, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  The phrase specifically of focus is the kingdom of his beloved son.

Who is this son?  What is this love of God towards the son?  We read popular passages like John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.” What does this mean?  What is the significance of the Son? Little bit later in John 3:35, “The Father loves the son and has given all things into his hand.”

Genesis 12

What we will find through Scripture is God’s unfolding hand and a mystery revealed.  Today we begin in Genesis 12 with the call of Abraham (at the time Abram).  His name means exalted father. When it was changed it meant, Father of a great multitude.  He had no children. 

We see the Abraham calling 12:1-9.  Abraham was living in the land of Ur.  We learn from Joshua he knew nothing of God in fact he was an idol worshipper.  He leaves Ur and just goes.  No GPS, trip tick, just pack up and go.

God makes three promises to Abraham: I will give you a name, I will give you a land and all the people of the earth will be blessed through you.  These were the promises of Abraham.

These are the well-known parts to most believers.  The famine is most often forgotten.  There was a severe famine and Abraham and Sarah went to Egypt to escape and when they got there a sense of fear overcame Abraham.

Explain Text:

10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

By the end of Genesis, the story of Abraham had unfolded enough that we see he and Sarah had grown to 70.  There was again a famine, and they all met Jospeh in Egypt. Joseph had been used in a mighty way by God in the land of Egypt and held great power.  Everyone got to eat, and the family was saved.

However, through a long stretch of time we read in Exodus 2 that things turned bad in Egypt:

“23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” Ex 2:23-25

God calls this man named Moses to deliver the people out of Egypt.  Moses was strong on refusal.  He offered God so many excuses, but God was persistent.  Moses makes some great points (at least in my book). 

Chapter 4 “Who is going to listen to me?”  That is a good point.  Consider Moses, unknown, just going to show up?  How do you get an appointment with the most important person in the land being unknown?  Could you do this?  Could you get an appointment with President Trump?  Gov. Dewine?  Mayor Rob Rue?

But Moses goes.  When he goes, he has a message from God to the king of Egypt:

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” Exodus 4:22-23

Ultimately when the people of Israel leave Egypt, they go through the Red Sea escaping the elite Egyptian army.  Yet these are a rebellious bunch.  They can’t get out of their own way in rebellion. 

This rebellion leads to a 40-year testing.  For 40 years they wander in the desert, do you trust God?  Over and again, they proved that they did not trust God.

The rebellion did not end there.  It continued as they turned to every vile godless thing. 

The prophet Hosea was given a task.  It was an alarming task.  The task revealed God’s message to the people of Israel.

Hosea was instructed to go marry a whore.  The message, you have been this unfaithful to me.  Hosea not only had to marry and have children with this woman, at one point, he had to buy her out of slavery. 

But there is this little message in Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him,

Hidden in all of this (and more for I just touched brief highlights) God had a son.  God incarnate.  God coming in the flesh.  God was not simply leading Abraham out of Egypt.  God was not just leading the family of Abraham out of Egypt.  This family that had grown to potentially millions.

God was calling His son.  We see this in Matthew.  This book opens with the rich genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham.  We get to the birth of Jesus and no sooner does this happen we find Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to Egypt to avoid being killed.

Herod was looking to destroy the child Jesus.  Joseph was instructed by an angel to flee there and then we find this quotation from Hosea 11.

“This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ’Out of Egypt I called my son.’”

Do you see the life of Christ as Israel? 

This is God’s son.  The mystery revealed.  This mystery was not devised by our Lord at the last minute.  He knew before the foundation of the world.

 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” 1 Peter 1:18-20

We celebrate great things.  Oh that great day that as long as I have a memory will not forget beating Chesapeake High School.  The place erupted and I can remember lying in my bed hours later.  The room was dark and my ears were still ringing from the victory. 

We celebrate great acts of sports.  We celebrate great acts in stage and screen.  We celebrate great guitar and instrument playing.  (Daniel Boscoe France and Rick Boals). 

C.S. Lewis once wrote in his commentary on Psalms that he was uncomfortable at times with God demanding we praise him.  In C.S. Lewis’ words it was problematic.  God seeking praise is like one seeking validation.  It is like an author feigning for attention. 

Then he realized, it was not this at all.  Just as we recognize greatness through the moments in our lives, the wins, the solos, the feats of greatness, we appreciate them.  We applaud them.  We are moved by them.

When we look at this great work of God, this mystery hidden before the ages, we bow at the feet of our Lord in honor, praise and glory.  It is a matter of recognition.

In the words of Paul, if the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  Yet it is only through this that we are saved. 

Jesus lived perfectly.  He was able to do what we could not.  Jesus is God’s true Israel.  He is the Israel of God.

Date: May 11, 2025

Lord’s Day: 19

Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ

Title: The Sound of New Birth

Text: Colossians 1:3-12

The Word of The Lord:

“3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Introduction

Where I grew up we had three creeks come together on our property.  They all join together and then pass under the county road and beyond.  My father liked to keep those creek banks trim so three to four times a summer it was my job from 10 years old and up to work on them.

I returned home two weeks ago for a day because at my last visit it was not going to be long before they needed to be addressed.  As I was working my mind began to think back to when I was younger and what life was like with my mother. 

There is one spot where there is a patch of easter lily’s.  As I made my way down the creek bank, my thoughts went back to when those flowers would bloom.  I would always be so excited because I could actually pick them and give them to my mom. 

For a man, at least this one, it is quite an adjustment when you go from a life with one woman to life with a wife (a different woman).  There are typically some adjustments/new expectations which need to be made. 

One of the biggest adjustments for me was noise level.  Tina’s environment is completely different than mine in this area.

I was taught to tip toe and do not wake momma up.  If there happened to be a day (usually Saturday) where mom could sleep in, she did.  I could get up but there better not be any slamming of the cabinets or doors or clinking of flatware on dishes or bowls.  I was also very careful about how I shut the doors, and I still do it to this day.

Tina on the other hand (and this is not criticism) grew up in a loud environment.  Her mother is loud.  Her cousins, aunts and uncles are loud. 

I think of these things because it is Mother’s Day.  They teach you in school to never miss preaching about mothers on Mother’s Day. 

And I will tell you this, I was going to break that rule.  If it does not fit with the series we are in, I had made a resolution to stick with the text.  But it just so happens, ladies who are mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, the text today deals with the new birth.  So, at least this year, you will not be skipped in the sermon.

Prayer:

New Birth

There are three phrases that I want to focus on in 1:3-8.  Those phrases are:

These are very important because they describe something that is taking place. This thing taking place, that is being defined by Paul here, is the new birth.

The nature of motherhood in the proper in a Biblical way is to raise a family. A husband and wife (man and woman) commit a life together.  Like Ruth and Boaz, they have babies and raise a family.

I know for some of you, through no fault of your own, it was not like that.  Maybe there was a split in your family or maybe one of your parents passed on at an early age.  But what is being described hereis the ideal; marriage and family.

There was most likely a courting process.  The two get to know each other and then in time, parents get involved.  This is kind of a new way of beginning a family.

As we discussed in Ruth in our second or third sermon, in older times, before even being seen in public together, the boy would come over and spend a lot of time with mom, dad and potentially the whole family.  Things would be discussed like, how can you provide for my daughter?  What are you plans? What is your family life like? What do you plan on doing for yourself?

Then after marriage, the husband and wife get to a place where they have children.

I focus on this for a reason.  We have the believers at Colossae who:

This is new birth.  Last week I made several attempts to connect how Paul, Timothy and the church at Colossae are just like us here today.  I want to build upon that concept a little.

How does The New Birth Happen?

For much of my life I was under the impression that I had heard the gospel, and it was reasonable enough for me.  Then as a preacher I would go to great lengths to try and create the right mood so people would “make a decision” for Christ. I wanted it to be reasonable to others.  I would give my best sales pitch. Where did we get this?  

If you go back far enough there was a man by the name of Charles Finney (1792 to 1875).  He was under the impression that if you use the right amount of persuasion and technique you can bring anyone to Christ.  He did just this beginning in the “burned out district” of northwestern New York he went on to preach long revival meetings. 

He created the nervous bench.  That while he was preaching if anyone really began to question their eternal state, he would call them up to that bench and then he would really lay it on thick.  This nervous bench would eventually turn into the altar call. 

There are many, even today that have glowing things to say about Charles Finney.  He did some fantastic things in the abolition movement.  He was key in setting up the underground railroad and was president of Oberlin College here in Ohio. 

But there are some who reflect on what they say was 500k souls saved during his ministry.  By all accounts this number can’t be trusted.

Towards the end of Finney’s ministry there were some people who followed him from town to town after he had moved on.  They came around three to four weeks after to take note that an exceptionally high percentage of “converts” had fallen away.

This phenomenon was so popular in culture that Mark Twain referenced it in his story The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (read and explain).

This continued to develop over time up until the current time.  There came along a movement in the late 90’s and into the 2000’s called the speaker sensitive movement.  It was just a logical extension of trying to create an atmosphere where someone would make a decision to follow Christ.

Tina and I was a part of a church for quite a while that there would be some bands that would be jealous of the technology they were using.  The light show would rival a small Pink Floyd concert.

I loved it.  Please do not misunderstand, I am not throwing those people under the bus.  Many or most of them are well intentioned as I was.  I thought that was the way to go.  Create an atmosphere where people can easily commit to Christ

This use of emotion is not the cause of new birth.  What we have with the church of Colossae is a man named Epaphras heard Paul’s message in Ephesus and became a believer.  He took that message back to Colossae and planted a church.

Did Paul use the trappings of that culture or did he use the word of God?  Did Paul use the fog machine or the word of God?

Is this new birth?  I say no, it is not.

John 1:11-13 it says that Jesus, “Came to his own and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Well, what is this?  How are people born again?  It is not something they decide to do.  It is unlike starting a family.

Earlier we referenced a man and a woman, the court and after a while they engage to become married and then they marry.  This is their will.  They begin a family; this is their will.

The new birth is not like that.  The new birth is not the result of the will of man or the will of the flesh. 

The new birth is of God.  This is confirmed time and again in the book of John.  John 1:13 is the beginning of this message ringing throughout the remainder of the book.  But let us not limit ourselves to John.

Paul defines this in 1 Corinthians 2:11-14, “So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

This is the new birth.  Without this step by God we are hopeless.  How does it come about?

How does it happen?  Romans 10:17 the very word of God.  We brought it up last week and here we are again, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.”  This is how it happens.  Now do you understand why God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword?

God’s word is powerful.  It reigns supreme.  My word is not like God’s word.  There are times my word cannot make a dog obey.

There is a spot just in front of my office that the dogs like.  I have no idea why they like it, but they do.  They paw at it and dig at it.  I fuss at them. They leave but they come back.

This week I found Jo pawing at it.  She will eat a clump of mud, and I give stern words to her.  She looks at me and backs up.  She takes a few steps away.  Soon as my back is turned, she goes right back.  “JO! What are you doing?”

My words are powerless.  God’s words calm the sea.  God’s word creates the heavens.  God’s words stops storms.  God’s words raise people from the dead.  God’s word creates light out of darkness.

This is new birth.  God shown in our darkened hearts.  That is how you came to Christ you know?  This is it.  John 1, “Not by blood or the will of man but of God.”

This is how it worked for those in Colossae.  It is what happened to everyone involved with this letter and to us, it is just stipulated with the people of Colossae:

And this has happened in Colossae and it has happened here at Donnels Creek. The Spirit taught us with wisdom of God.

What we also share in this room is age.  Paul, a man of faith, and Timothy, also a man of faith, both had spiritual maturity.  Paul was much older than Timothy.  Bu they were mature in the faith and they were looking over this young group of believers.

One of the strengths of this body is its age.  It is true.  There are many seasoned believers here who have seen a lot of life.  You do not have to be old chronologically to be mature in the faith.  We have both.  We have people who have been in the faith for decades. 

We have some younger believers, some who are new to the faith.  And they need us.  They need our prayers.  They need our encouragement. 

Here Paul is addressing the church and says, “We are praying for you.” What are they praying?

Can we do that?  Can you think of people here who need (list above individually)?  We have options or we have opportunities!  We have options of complaining that they are not mature or we have an opportunity to pray that they mature in their faith. 

The Word of The Lord:

“3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Conclusion of the Ruth Series

Easter Sunday 2025

Date: April 13, 2025

Lord’s Day: 15 (Palm Sunday)

Series: Redeeming Ruth

Title: The Work of Christ

Text: Matthew 26:30-35, 69-75

Last week in our time together we were in Ruth chapter 3.  Naomi had instructed Ruth to go to the Barley Harvest Party.  Naomi was trying to attain by works, what Ruth had earlier in our story received by grace.

Namely, Ruth had gone to the fields looking for someone to be gracious to her, seeking God’s blessing.  But now that the season is over and no more romantic sparks were flying, Naomi was answering the question: How can I make this relationship work?  Her answer, have Ruth get all dolled up and send her to the party and ultimately at the foot of the bed of Boaz, waiting for him to tell her what to do.

The comparison for us is that for many believers, this is how our relationship with Jesus tends to go.  What begins as grace tends to go toward works. 

But just as I learned as a young boy, this is a burden we can’t bear.  It is too heavy for us.

We began with an example last week and we will pick up this week to complete the thought.  I can think of no better place to allow this to play out than our text today.

It is one of the more recognizable passages that nearly all of those in the faith are aware of Peter’s denials and even a sizable portion of those who are not believers also know.

PREDICTION

The Mount of Olives is just outside Jerusalem and to the east.  After instituting the Lord’s Supper, they sing a hymn and head towards the Mount and it is here that Jesus, surrounded by the apostles and he tells them they are all going to fall away.  He quotes the prophet Zechariah.

Peter speaks up, “Not me.  Even if everyone abandons you, I never will.”

Jesus replies, “You too Peter.  Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.

Peter doubles down, “I won’t.  I will not deny you, even if I have to die I will not deny you.”

It is at this place that a couple things need to be highlighted:

He is not alone.  In this moment all of these men around Jesus are all in on Jesus.  Again, Peter is vocal.

Regarding our subject, what starts as grace turns into works, this passage jumps out.  We can feel so committed.  We set our minds on something regarding growth in Christ.  This is what Paul was fighting with in Galatians 3 “having begun by the Spirit are you being perfected by the flesh?”

CHRISTIAN WORKOUT

So this is the Christian life.  We get saved and we are so grateful.  Those first few weeks or months we are on cloud nine, floating like an angel.  We are giving money out to the beggars on the street corner.  We are carrying our Bibles everywhere we go.

It is a lot like working out.  Every January at the gym there is this huge influx of people.  These are the new year’s resolution people.

They are getting up early, going in before work.  They have changed their diet for a couple of days.  They are putting aside the Coke and Pepsi and French Fries and Donuts.  They start eating some Greek yogurt and protein shakes.

They go and get some new shoes and maybe some workout gear.  Nice pair of pants and dry fit shirts to sweat in.  They get some workout gloves, socks and fancy thing to hold their phone and some ear pods.  They are all in. 

But in 21 days, things begin to get a little more sparse.  The room clears little by little.  They tend to sleep in and the motivation is dissipating.   Before long, it is back to the same people that were there last November.

There are many similarities with our Spiritual life.  Then we want to get back on track.  What can I do to make this work?  What can I do to help Jesus?  What can I do for God?

What I am about to say may sting some of you a little bit.  But I want each of you to embrace it because it is true.

The only thing I bring to this relationship with Jesus is sin and brokenness.  I contribute nothing but sin.  The same is true for all of us.  I will explain it more here in a bit but I want that to sink in.  In reality this is good news. 

When Paul said, “having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” What did he mean?  In what way did our life in Christ begin by the Spirit? I will give you 3 examples.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

This is a passage that I will come back to frequently.  I can’t believe I have been here almost two months, and I have not brought it up yet.  It is one of the most significant passages of Scripture in the Old Testament.  Jeremiah 31 has the exact same message as this passage.  I will mention this passage frequently.  A teacher’s best friend is repetition, repetition, repetition.

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

This is the work of God in the New Covenant.  It will involve God placing the Spirit within the believer.  This is a work of God.  What will this Spirit do for the believer?

This is the work of God.

The work of God is mentioned six times.

What does God do in the New Covenant to the believer,

I will cleanse you.

I will sprinkle this water on you.

I will give you a new heart.

I will give you a new Spirit

This Spirit is IN the believer.

This Spirit will be the causal power to love righteousness.

This is exactly what Paul is referring to.  Having begun by the Spirit are being perfected by the flesh.  You did not begin this journey in the flesh. 

John 3

It is being born from above as we learn from Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.  Jesus is referring to this very thing.  You must be born again Nicodemus.  No one can see the kingdom unless he is born again. 

The word for again is anothen.  It means, being born from above.  Jesus then not only repeats that those in the kingdom are born from above but he then describes how it is done, through the Spirit. 

Everyone in the kingdom is born of the water and the Spirit.  Does this not sound like our Ezekiel 36 passage?  Does it not fit together so perfectly? 

That which is born of flesh is flesh, but that which is born of Spirit is Spirit.  This is how it looks for the believer. 

This is what Paul is referring to when he says, “Having begun by the Spirit are you being perfected by the flesh.”  God did this work in you, this new birth work.  New creation. 

Philippians 1:6 He who began this work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.  Who is the He?  The He is God.  God began a work in you and He will be so persistent and because you have the Spirit of God in you, you will love this work.

Here is the issue: Peter is so sure, so confident that he will be successful during Jesus’ trial.  So were the other apostles.  They were in lock step.

But yet, what happened?  He failed.  He was confronted by a teenage girl.  He did not even get confronted by a guard or a judge.  Just some random servant girl.  He buckles. 

The location of Peter is interesting.  In Luke’s account, it states that Peter was following from a distance. 

The end result is failure.  This result led to Peter weeping. 

We go back to our story of Ruth and Naomi.  What started with Ruth seeking grace has turned into Naomi working as hard as she can. 

When we turn from grace to works it will ultimately end exactly as it did for Peter. 

We will either be completely arrogant, or completely broken.  If we are honest, it will be on the broken end.

Date: April 6, 2025

Lord’s Day: 14

Series: Redeeming Ruth

Title: The Redeemer

Text: Ruth 3:1-18

Introduction:

1896 Concept of dating was emerging, and it was a form of prostitution

1900’s women would not be seen in public with a man, not her dad or brother (relative) so as not to be mistaken for a prostitute.  The standard was courting.  A young man would call the father and arrange time that everyone could sit together.  The father, after a while, would inquire what the boy’s intentions were with the daughter.  What did the young man have in mind?  How was he going to provide for the girl?  What kind of religion was he?  The father and the brothers were the gate keepers.

1900’s Women magazine begin promoting that there is another way than how it has been. Break free from the old pattern of mom and dad and their influence.

1920’s Urbanization.  People began moving to cities.  Dances became a thing and hanging out in movie houses. (Add church)

1930’s cars began to get introduced progressively and relationship (dating as we call it) was moved away from the house and out of the house.  The chats that were in the living room or dining room or kitchen with all the family soon became one on one just the boy and the girl, away from people.

1940’s going on dates began to change and a business view was adopted by men that if I have spent money on you then I am owed a type of repayment.

1960’s a tri-fecta storm his of birth control, plus the sexual revolution and playboy was introduced and hidden behind a counter.

1970 adult content came out from behind the counter and there were more options

1974 no fault divorce was introduced

1990s until now it has gotten progressively worse.

For many of us, this is all we know.  In 100 years, it has gone from courting with mom, dad and brothers involved to now, it is not unusual for private images are exchanged sometime before an in person meeting. 

I paint a bleak picture but I can make two observations here: 1. It is accurate and 2. There are those who are more traditional in courtship.  Within a smaller population, I have seen a minor swing back to traditional courtship. 

However, I believe we can all take a look back, regardless of our age, and see a dangerous progression.  Culture, in relation to adult content, has grown drastically worse in the past 125 years. 

As our story of Ruth unfolds today, we will see how this introduction is relevant.  In the beginning to the middle of Ruth chapter 2, the sparks were flying between Ruth and Boaz.  There seemed to be an instant connection and Boaz was going out of his way to provide for Ruth.

Boaz saw Ruth gleaning and asked, “Who is that?”   He gave her the employee lunch and let her enter the employee area of the field.  He is having his men look out for her and without her knowing it, they are throwing down barley seed on ground so she can get more. 

Ruth goes home with over a half bushel basket of barley but then that is it.  Harvest season is 6 to 8 weeks long, she has been working every day and the season is over and there has been nothing else between Boaz and Ruth.  We get to chapter 3 and the season is now over.

Naomi has an idea.  It is not a good idea.  In our second week together when we looked to see what Naomi had packed for the return move, the second thing mentioned was, she had bad ideas.  I highlighted that and said, chapter 1 is not the only time she gave bad advice.  I think today is the second time she provides with misguided advice to Ruth.

3:1 you still need a husband.  Barley season is coming to a close this is your chance to get a husband.

3:2 there will be a big party at the threshing floor.  Remember, this story began with a famine.  Famine is now over.  God has blessed them.  There is an actual harvest.  This threshing floor is a common place through Scripture and it is an area where the actual meat of the plant is separated from the husk.

I am aware there are far more farmers and those with farming experience here at Donnels Creek than we have in the city but for those of you who may not be aware I call your attention to this pistachio nut. 

Think of this pistachio nut here.  I have to crack the shell and inside is the actual nut.  Once the shell is removed the nut can be eaten.  Think of the shell as the husk and the actual pistachio nut as the grain.  The husk has to be removed.

The threshing floor is the location where this process of removing the husk is repeated in masse.  All of what is harvested is taken here to be processed.

Everyone has worked hard.  The famine is over.  Time to let lose a little and celebrate.  There are ALL sorts of activities going on in this celebration, both good and bad. 

Some, as you can imagine, may drink a little too much.  They overindulge, and that is not good.  Not everyone will but a few will. 

There is also some adult transactions going on.  The prophet Hosea (9:1) speaks of this activity would occur frequently at the threshing floors.  Where there is a large collection of men and money, there will be some adult transactions happening. 

3:3-4 what Naomi tells Ruth is, get dolled up and go to the celebration.  Wash up and put on some perfume.  Boaz has only exposure to you over the past few weeks is funkified Ruth.

She has been out in the field, sweating and working hard.  Naomi is giving Ruth advice, good and bad, on what her next steps should be.  Get dolled up.  Go to the party at the threshing floor.  Don’t interrupt Boaz.  Let him eat and drink and then when he lies down go join him.

Boaz is laying down there to protect what he had threshed.  All of this barley also attracts thieves who want to steal the product.  He is going to sleep by his harvest.

Boa

3:9 Fortunately, Boaz is a godly man.  He wakes up and it is dark.  He can’t see but he knows someone is with him.  Who is there?

It is me Ruth, I am your servant.  I am your employee.  Spread your wing over me.

This is Ruth proposing that he propose to her.  How do I know this? 

(Boaz think she is out of his league)

She is taking him back to (2:12) where Boaz complimented her, “May the Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 

Boaz, I want you to spread your wings over me.  I want to be your wife.  This is risky:

3:10 Boaz thinks she is out of his league.  There are plenty of other younger men and you want me?  There are poor and rich younger men, but you desire to be with me.  Boaz is in.  He is all in on this.

Now here is where we will take a turn because so many miss this portion of the story and it is a big deal.  We spent a little time in chapter one with the concept of Levirate marriage.  That when a woman dies without having a male offspring, the brother is to step in and fulfill this duty for his brother.

This was a part of the law (Dt 25 and Lv 19) but he was not obligated to do so.  But the land was tied to the wife.  If the brother marries the woman, he gets the land temporarily until the son grows of age and he inherits. Which means, additional income for a while. 

Most people see Boaz as potentially fulfilling this Levirate responsibility.  This is not the case.  There is a redeemer.  Boaz clarifies, there is someone who can claim you and the land.  Let me figure this out tomorrow. 

Boaz is in no way obligated to take this woman as his wife.  He WANTS and DESIRES to have Ruth.  He loves her.  

(3:14-15) He wants her because he looks out for her needs.  He does not want a bad word to get out about Ruth so he protects her reputation.  Wait here until everyone is asleep and go home while it is still dark.  He does not want her to get harmed by others nor her reputation be harmed because of an appearance of impropriety.

Yet it is important that in no way an obligation for Boaz.  This is an important thing to know about this story.  If you miss this, you miss Jesus.

Before we unpack that completely, let us focus on the advice of Naomi here.  Ruth began in chapter 2 seeking grace.  She desired that some grace be shown to her so her and Naomi could eat.  And was grace ever given.  It was given abundantly.

Now at this point in our story, what began as Ruth seeking grace has turned Naomi trying to work the system and trap Boaz into a relationship. 

Did not God abundantly supply Ruth and Naomi?  (yes)

Do you think God needed Ruth to put herself in that position on threshing floor? (no)

Naomi crossed a line here trying to help along a situation.  She had excellent intentions.  She desired Ruth find a husband.  The means by which she advised to get it, bad.  Fortunately, nothing happened and I do not refer just to a sinful union, I am more referencing potential harm that could have come to Ruth.

When Ruth got home (3:16) it appears the mother-in-law stayed up.  “How did it go?”  I do tend to read into the text at times, but this just seems like the mother-in-law was waiting for the details.

There are two ways we can view this (have a dumbbell and a tissue box or timer, possibly use both).  Naomi is trying to force a situation.  She is working it hard. 

The weight will be our visible marker for working.  She is working it.  Something needs to happen and she is going to work to make certain it happens.  Forget the fact that in her work, she is tricking the system. 

She had a motive didn’t she?  Her motive was to, by her planning, put just the right things in place and force this to happen.  This method, if she was successful, would have placed the burden on Boaz.  She had no intention of relying on the grace of God, rather she chose force.

Naomi is applying force.  Ruth was seeking grace. 

As we have been going through this text my desire was to point out how we can look for Christ in the O.T.  Anytime we are in the O.T. I will be doing this.  Where is Christ in this text?  I do this because that is what Jesus was teaching us to do in His ministry.  “You come to these Scripture (O.T.) to find life, but it is these Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5)

Where is Christ here? 

It is typical that men do not like to see themselves as brides, but in the case of the church, the Ekklesia (the called-out ones), the Church is the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:2-23; Revelation 19:7-9). 

Jesus was not obligated to save us (John 10:17-18).  Jesus gave himself for the flock, willingly.  He did not get tricked into being the groom for the church. 

Boaz was not obligated to marry Ruth.  Boaz wanted to marry Ruth.  He loved her.  In this situation Boaz is a picture of Jesus, Ruth is a picture of the church.  Naomi is trying to use trickery to get Boaz to love Ruth.

Here is one of the most difficult lessons for the Christian to accept.  What starts out as grace so often turns into work.  We will continue this next week and pick up right where we leave off but let me leave you with one example.

Jesus words in Matthew, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

For some will read that and draw a box over to the left of the page and then write out, I must be perfect.  I am going to try and check that box.  This is the expectation.  Jesus said, “You must be perfect” therefore it must be possible for me to attain this on my own.

So after we are saved, we come to this teaching and was say, “Okay, God got me here.  God got me salvation.  It is up to me to make this happen.  Going to be perfect starting right HERE!”

You can’t.  You soon fail.  There are people who really believe this.  There are people who may not believe that one but act like it in other areas.

They are living their Christian life over here.  And soon they will be over here.  Why?  On days you feel pretty good over here there is great pride.  Look what I can do.  On days of failure, I am condemned.  There is great brokenness.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

You feel condemned.  You feel it.  Then you muster up the strength, I am going to do this. 

There is a difference between condemnation and conviction.  There comes a point in every true believer’s life where they are convicted.  That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said to the Galatian church, “are you now trying to finish in the flesh what was begun by the Spirit?”

The Spirit is the beginning and end of your life as a believer.  You can’t force your way into making this work.  In our story last week Jesus tells the listeners, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws him.”  We can’t even do that.  Yet we think we can force this.

It is always about Jesus loved ones.  He has loved us with a beautiful love.  And what I see in Naomi is a dangerous action of her trying to supersede and control the situation and make something happen on her own strength.  It not only places Ruth in real life danger but on another level, she really hasn’t the ability to do it.

We will pick up here.  There is MUCH MUCH more to address and unpack.  It makes for a terrific Palm Sunday message.

Date: March 23, 2025

Lord’s Day: 12

Series: Redeeming Ruth

Title: I Am Hungry

Text: Ruth 2:1-17

Introduction:

Thus far, our text from the book is saturated with the fall of man.  As you recall, the book of Ruth begins giving us when it was written.  “In the days when the Judges ruled . . . there was a famine in the land.”  How does the book of Judges end?  “In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

It does sound strikingly similar to the current time.  The fall of man has saturated our study thus far.  Rebellion, death and poverty have been dominating themes.

While reflecting upon our studies, one may be tempted to think that I am preparing you for a season of suffering.  This is not the case.  Rather, I can think of no better way to portray the sovereignty of our Lord than to show how He rules over the worst of times.

As we march towards The Passion Week, we can witness our Sovereign Lord reigning and ruling over death and the grave.  The ultimate suffering seen through the Suffering Servant.

A couple of weeks ago I had shared on a Monday Thursday thoughts concerning a tapestry.  We can look at this tapestry from the back side and it is a mess.  There are strings going everywhere and none of them seem to make sense.  Yet, on the other side, there is a beautiful picture. 

This would be a good way to recall how God works through suffering.  How He reigns through difficult times.  As we are in those difficult periods, it may seem a disjointed mess.  How, even He will set us through seasons of suffering, but ultimately a beautiful picture emerges.  He is weaving it for us.

There are far too many people who fail to see that it is our own rebelliousness and doing what is right in our own eyes that has brought this death and poverty.  Some never taste and see that God is good.  Some never see how God works through this tapestry of life to create a masterpiece.

How does this work in our text today?  Let us begin to see.

Back in Bethlehem

Recall last week Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem.  Naomi was greeted, “Is this sweetheart?  Is this pleasant?”  No, I am not sweetheart any longer.  My name is Bitter!  The Lord took me away full and brought me back empty.”

This is some selective recall.  Naomi did not leave Bethlehem full.  Naomi did leave with a husband and two boys.  It is true that they are gone.  But they left in dire circumstances.  They left because they could not find food in a place called, “The House of Bread.”

That is like saying, “We can’t fly a kite in the Windy City.”  There are no beans in bean town.  People are splitting up, relationships are ending in the city of romance.  There is no light in the city of light.  The eternal city has been destroyed.

This was the original issue.  Naomi’s recollection is fuzzy.  The House of Bread had no bread.  There was nothing.

We can do that as we look back over time.  As we grow we can be tempted to do this.  Someone may take your seat.  But this is my pew.  Do I ask them to get up and move?  I have sat here for 20 years. 

You deacons in charge of the building may have to do repairs more often.  We do not encourage recklessness.  Rather we encourage to respect the property, however, as the building fills, naturally, walls get dinged and paint gets chipped and messes get made.

Sunday morning will get louder as the sanctuary fills will more families.  Men and parents need to look out for children as they get too close to our mature ladies.    These are the growing pains.

It may be very easy to look at those issues and ponder when there was more respect.  It was when the place was a bit more empty.  God’s blessing will bring some chaos.  We can handle it. 

Let us not be like Naomi and have selective recall.  Right?  Amen? 

Let The Gleaning Begin

As Naomi and Ruth settle in to life back in Bethlehem they begin to ponder how they are going to eat.  We came back because House of Bread has bread again; how do we get our hands on some of that?

It is called gleaning.  Anyone hear of it?  Just as “return” appears 12 times in the rest of chapter 1, glean appears 12 times in chapter 2. 

Leviticus 19; 23 and Dt 24 provide details on this practice.  In summary, this was a practice for orphans, widows, sojourners (any foreigner living among the covenant community) and those who were in poverty.  It was a way to provide for those people. 

When grains or stalks were dropped in the corners and on the edges of a property, when the fields are being harvested they were told to leave them there.  Don’t pick up those dropped parts.

This still happens today, even with big modern machinery.  My daughter’s school is in the middle of a large corn field.  The parking lot edges right up to a field.  I park there and will drop the gate of my truck or open the hatch of my Volvo and will sit and read and look out into the field. 

I have noticed during harvest, when the big machines come and eat up the stalks and do what they do, there are still little kernels of corn on the ground.  You can see this in the middle of the field.  When a farmer gives a parcel of land a sabbath rest and does not grow anything on it, or puts maybe a cover crop on it, you will see a random corn plant grow every now and again.  This is the occasional kernel of corn that the machine misses.

This is the idea of gleaning.  The harvesters are to leave that and those poor, widowed, orphaned, etc. can come and pick it up and have some ability to eat.

The plan was Ruth would go and ask a relative of her father-in-law (Elimelech) and see if she could glean in his fields. 

V.1 Boaz is described:              Worthy Man ESV

                                                                Man of standing NIV

                                                                Influential man NLT

                                                                Mighty Man KJV

                                                                Man of great wealth NKJV/NASB95/RSV

The Hebrew word = Gibbor. Now you may ponder why I bring this up.  Recall from our very first week together as we looked at Isaiah 6. We discussed the various names of God.  Last week we dealt with two, El Shaddai and the covenant name of God YHWH.  El Shaddai- almighty and Naomi said, the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

When we spoke of these names of God, we considered the Christmas passage from Isaiah 9, “To us a child is given, to us a son is born . . .  and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God.”   El Gabbor is the word used there. 

What we see in our text of Ruth 2 is Gabbor – mighty.  This Boaz first description is mighty.  KJV may have it best here. 

This description of Elimelech we see through this text that he is a very well-respected man.  When he comes into the field he is greeted respectfully (2:4).  The men that work for Boaz respect his authority and followed his desires as their boss.  He is a compassionate boss who makes sure his men are fed and rested. 

It gives the distinction (2:2) of Ruth’s Moabite origin.  This is mentioned five times in the book of Ruth.  This would be in relation that she is an outsider; she came from Moab.

She is looking for someone who will be gracious with her.  This is what favor means.  It is the same meaning regarding Noah: “Noah found favor (grace KJV) in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen 6:8). 

Being a widow the Law of Moses (Dt. 24) commanded they be able to glean.  But the workers did not have to be kind to her.  They did not have to be nice to her.  Being an outsider meant many things for Ruth on a “job site” seeking welfare and none of them were good.  So she is seeking a gracious act from this mighty man.

Boaz takes notice of Ruth

Boaz notices Ruth working.  “Who is this?”  This is Ruth the Moabite. She has been working all day and has really only taken a short break.  She is looking after her mother-in-law.

Boaz speaks to Ruth and is certain to tell her to remain only in his field.  It is not that he is attracted to her, he wants to protect her.  He wants his men to look after her and ensure that she is safe.

But then Boaz goes the extra mile.  He blesses Ruth in a very large way. 

Recall that gleaning is getting what falls to the ground.  It could be a stalk.  It could be just a few heads of grain.  Whatever falls to the ground, on the edge of the field, the workers are to leave for the poor. 

At lunch Ruth is invited to eat with the boys.  She is invited upto have the prepared food of bread, roasted grain and wine.  She had so much to eat there were leftovers.  She needed a doggie bag.

Then, Boaz tells his workers to allow her to glean inside the field.  Not only was she gleaning inside the field but they were also just spreading food on the ground.  I never knew agriculture could be so romantic. 

When she arrived home that evening, 2:17 says she had an ephah of barley.  Isn’t that terrific?  Everyone knows what an Ephah is, right?

Expectations

I looked all around the internet, I used AI.  I consulted my reference books.  I could not find anywhere, what was expected on a typical day of gleaning.  I wanted to know, how much, on average, did a person get gleaning.

I know it was not a lot.  I still wanted to know and there is nothing out there that could answer that question.  So, just so you are aware, what I am about to show you can’t be substantiated.  It is pure guess work on my part.  What I reasoned was enough grain to make a loaf of bread.  This is most likely too generous. 

I base it on Naomi’s reaction to what Ruth brought in.  I also base it on how much grain I have seen on the edges of a field today.  This is an overestimate. 

However, an Ephah is a measurement we can find the meaning to.  I will show you what Ruth should have gotten (wheat in a measuring cup) and what Ruth brought home (60% of a bushel basket). 

Differing Views

What is telling in our passage today is the differing view which Naomi and Ruth has.  It is unknown the conversations between Naomi and Ruth that led up to 2:1 but there had to be some.  These women had to eat, they had no income and so what proceeded was Ruth says, “Hey, I am going to go glean for us and I really hope I can find grace with this mighty man Elimelech.”

Ruth’s vision is of faithful expectation.  She has been faithful from the beginning

Naomi:

Yes, boys, you can marry these Moabite women (prohibited)

Yes, girls, how about you go home and marry some good idol worshipers

Yes, God has been bitter with me, go your own way. 

Yes, I am changing my name to bitter

Ruth:

                                I will not go back to my people

                                I will not leaving you

                                Your God is my God

                                I am going out to find someone to be gracious to us

Naomi’s attitude and expectation is not, I am going to pull myself up by my bootstraps, it is more like, I have not even any bootstraps because God has taken them from me. 

Ruth’s attitude and expectation is I have to be faithful which means I go to do the things which follow faithfulness. 

Ruth was faithful.  Naomi is unfaithful.  Naomi is of the covenant family of faith.  Ruth is an outsider.

When Ruth went out to glean (the two cup flour) this is what Naomi expected.  What Ruth went to do is glean and in faith desire that she find someone to be gracious to her.  What she attained was abundance. 

We find this same situation with Jesus in John 6.  As you read through the gospels, Jesus feeds great multitudes twice.  One of the feedings was with the Law of Moses Covenant Family (Matthew 15) which would be like Naomi’s.  The second is recorded here in John 6, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee which is clearly for those who are outside of the Law of Moses Covenant Family which would be like Ruth because she as a Moabite woman. 

Jesus looks at his disciples and says, “We should feed these people.”  It had defined (6:2) the gathering as a “large” crowd and then later refined it to about 5K (6:10) men. 

Philip says, “Where we gonna get enough food to feed all these people.”  The math was not mathing for Philip.  His advice to Jesus was similar to Naomi, “We ain’t got nothing.”

But Andrew found a boy with a box lunch.  Five barley loaves and two fish.  Any of us who grew up in church know this story.  Jesus fed everyone, miraculously.  Here is where liberal scholarship gets us.  They like to explain away the miracle.  “Jesus really did not feed everyone with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish, actually everyone shared.  They all shared their lunch and Jesus had motivated them to share”  No.  Wrong.  Jesus fed them, all.  10,000+ people were fed by Jesus with 5 loaves and 2 fish. 

You know how I know that?  Well, first, because I believe it.  I believe what the Bible says.  Second, they come looking for Jesus a little later in the John 6.  Jesus goes to the other side of the lake and they meet him there.  Jesus goes by water, they go by land.  They are hungry. 

Did you ever realize how many hungry people there are in the Bible?  There are a lot of hungry stories. 

Jesus says, “you know why you are following me?  Cause I fed you.  Stop spending all your energy on eating for food that perishes.  Seek the food that endures for eternal life.”

They replied, “Hey, you remember manna?  God gave it to our ancestors when they were in the wilderness.  Give us some of this.”

Your biggest need is not eating food.  It is a need.  Why were these people following Jesus?  Because they had a need for bread.  They wanted more bread.  Jesus says, this is not your biggest need.  I fed you yesterday, and you are hungry again.  What you need is the true bread from heaven!”

“Give us this bread ALWAYS!”    

Jesus replies, “It is me.  I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.’

The Psalmist says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

The issue for most of us, for the people in the text, for Naomi and for us, we have a view where we simply just want fed for the day.  We have this (glass measuring cup) view of God.  What He wants to give us is (bushel basket) this.

We come to him in prayer with this view.  When we should be coming with (bushel) this view. 

Here is where the prosperity theology go off the rails because they will make it about how God wants to bless us abundantly with riches, success, health, wealth, etc. That is the idol.  We are back eating again.  That is not Jesus’ point. 

Jesus was saying, our biggest need is NOT earthly hunger.  We are dead without Christ.  Our community is dead without Christ.  We need this bread of heaven . . . only once.  This bread addresses a hunger that will never come back.

At the close of the sermon two weeks ago I asked the question: how does the bread of life relate to the house of bread?  Here is your answer.  Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem (house of bread) is our bread of life.

Far too often we approach our Lord in prayer for this congregation with (glass) expectation and not with (basket) this expectation.  The Hebrews writer encourages us to come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of need.

That does not mean demanding.  It does not mean disrespectful.  God is not our genie in a bottle. 

It means, we are praying for our growth as believers.  It means that we are praying for the growth of this congregation numerically and spiritually.  These are things God desires.  This is God’s will, your sanctification 1Thess 4:3.  With confidence and the faithfulness of Ruth, we pray expecting this (bushel)

Date: March 16, 2025

Lord’s Day: 11

Series: Redeeming Ruth

Title: Running to Stand Still

Text: Ruth 1:19-22

Introduction:

Last year, around November, I had an appointment with a friend in the neighborhood.  At that time, she was not as mobile as she currently is, so I had driven her to a doctor’s appointment.  We use her car most always when she needs to go places.  I had brought what I usually bring things iPad for any reading or note taking and my ear pods if I needed to listen to anything.

After I had got her into the building where her appointment was, I went off for a quick gasoline trip.  Upon returning I had decided to leave my iPad in the car.  She has no window tint so I put it in the trunk of the car and for some reason that to this day I do not have an answer, I put the keys in the trunk as the iPad was being placed in there.  As I recall, I was making some adjustments to a few things that were inside the trunk.  Then I closed the lid.

Next, I was in the waiting area reading news on my phone.  She was not long in the appointment and then it was time to leave.  We walked to the car and I began searching for the keys in my pocket and at this point a small drizzle had began to descend.  I am digging in each pocket and not finding keys.  I run into the waiting area to see if the keys had fallen out of the pocket or if I had placed them on a side table.  No keys.

This is when it occurred to me that I locked the keys in the car, in the trunk.  The moment I placed the keys on the floor of the trunk was insignificant (freeing my hands).  It was not something I placed a lot of thought, so I really had to replay the whole thing in my head.

Now, I will confess, I am not a man quick to anger.  I will also confess that typically, in the event that I do get angry, I tend not to remain there long.  There began at that moment an increasing sense of anger that just did not relent. 

After ushering my friend back to the waiting room and then returning to the car, the next 90 minutes would be filled with further bad news. After roadside assistance helped with unlocking the car doors, guess what does not work when the keys are inside the trunk: trunk release. 

I went to YouTube university and found that I was not the only idiot that had this happen.  To fix the problem there was a variety of ways to get the seats to collapse in order to crawl into trunk to retrieve the keys.  The issue there was the right tools/materials were not available. 

I was stuck, in the drizzle and sprinkling rain.  Anger was building.  It was hours of anger that turned into bitterness.  I was bitter.  How could I be so stupid?  What in the world was I thinking?  Tina is going to make some stupid remark about me and keys!  How could I do this to my friend?  How could you be so stupid?  You are an idiot!

By 8 PM we had that car back to its place in my friend’s garage, after a 10 AM appointment.  I was reflecting on this as I studied the text because I began to ponder moments when I was bitter.  There have been very few moments where I have made company with bitterness, but this was definitely one.  I was so bitter because this was completely unavoidable.  It was just a silly mistake, that I could not fix, that cost the whole day.

Let us think back to our friends here Ruth and Naomi.  After the great and tragic loss, Ruth and Naomi are coming back to Bethlehem.  Last week, our time was spent looking at what was and was not in their moving boxes as they made the 70-mile journey from Moab back to Bethlehem. 

And when they came into Bethlehem the whole town was stirred because of them.  They were genuinely happy to see Naomi.  “Is this Naomi?  We are so happy to see you Naomi!”

What did she do?  Remember what her name meant?  I know it has been three weeks.  Her name means pleasant, or sweet.  We called her sweetheart.   

What does she do here?  Don’t call me Naomi.  What she is saying is, “Don’t call me pleasant! Don’t call me sweetheart!”  What does she want to be called?  “Call me Mara!” 

If you have a modern translation, those who translated the text wanted to make sure you understood what was being said so they put a footnote on it.  She is saying, “Call me bitter.” 

We can return to my cutesy little story about locking my keys in the trunk.  My anger turned into bitterness.  How could I waste my day?  How could I waste my neighbor’s day?  How could I be so stupid? 

Naomi is not bitter over something cutesy.  In her words, “I went away full and the (Shaddai) Almighty brought me back empty.”

She undergoes a name change.  “I am bitter!” 

You been there?  Has there been moments or seasons where in your assessment it appears that God is picking on you? 

Do you want to know what I admire about Naomi here?  She is honest!

Great to see you Naomi, how are you?  “I am bitter!” 

I spent that whole day, the day of rage and anger, bottled up.  I am not saying that this was wrong on that occasion, may have been the right thing to do.  But we do it as Christians. 

Here is where I am a bit of disadvantage because I am new to this family.  What I see and have experienced is genuine love and welcome.  What we have experienced so far from the youngest to the oldest can’t be faked.  It is real.

Here is the issue.  Just like I put on my best poker face and did the manly thing and stuffed that anger and bitterness deep down inside, we can do that with our church family. 

And if it is not true now, it will certainly be true when we start growing.  Because Church is where we need to have our smiling faces on.  Church is where we can be having WW2 getting the family ready in the morning and in the minivan on the way to assembly, but soon as we see that first person in the parking lot, “Mr. Jones . . .Ms. Williams . . . good to see you!  How are you?” The reply, with smiles and a complete change in demeanor “I am doing great.  Good morning!”

It is a total ruse.  Thing are not doing well.  It is a car full of people minutes away from a misdemeanor assault charge and instantly had to turn on the charm.  But there are people who will come through our doors that have real hurts and they will question if God is even good.  God is picking on me. 

I have heard the pain.  My own sister, someday maybe I will share the full story, but she lost her daughter by being shot.  A good Christian woman.  Faithful in prayer. Faithful in study.  In every aspect, living a fruitful Christian life. 

The sound of weeping as they first let immediate family in to see her before the funeral.  Gut wrenching weeping.  This is that which Naomi and family had faced. 

Naomi will not fake smile.  Call me BITTER!  I am bitter.  Life is not going well right now and I am bitter.  God is bitter towards me.  I am having trouble! 

We are not used to hearing this type of response.  Nor are we used to being this honest.

It appears Naomi put this out on Main Street in Bethlehem.  I am really struggling right now.

So, I am going to ask a question and I really want you to think about it.  It’s rhetorical.  Did God fail Naomi?  That is what she is thinking right now.  She still calls Him by the Covenant name YHWH – but she feels let down. (V. 21 I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty.)

It is similar to what I have placed on the front of your bulletin this week.  Syria is a mess.  It is on display for the entire world to see.  This mess is graphic.  You can go on social media, where most everyone gets there news now, and see actual people getting shot.  Fellow Christians who are dying for the faith.

What do we do with that?  This is the level of pain that asks, “How can God let that happen?”  This can be a source of deep bitterness in a believer’s life.

The world rarely has an answer of substance.  The world will suggest that maybe you have bad Karma.  You are being paid back for something you have done.  Maybe you should not have thrown your house slipper at the dog when he was licking his paw for 30 minutes at 1:25 in the AM.  You are getting paid back because you did not contribute to that poor person begging on the street corner.

This reasoning is not limited to Karma.  We are confronted with a reality here that, as your pastor, I will address many times.  We discussed this reality in our first sermon in Ruth, but at this moment I would like to take a little further.  It concerns the notion that if things are going bad for you, then you must have done something wrong, maybe you lack faith.  If you have enough faith, things will go well for you.

This was the counsel that Job’s friends brought to Job.  “Job, just confess your sin and ask forgiveness, and all this calamity that has beset you will cease.”

I warn against this because this thinking still exists today.  It appears on television in abundance.  It is called prosperity theology.  How many have heard of this?

If you have enough faith you will not suffer.  That is the message.  If you have enough faith, represented by what you give, you will sow a seed for success.  That you will have watches and cars and houses.  How did that work for Jesus?  Who had more faith and was more faithful than Jesus?  Who did not have a home to lay his head and was murdered.

From where is our strength for this?  How shall we bear such bitterness?

The Psalmist says: “Whom have I in heaven but you? There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

You think David had moments of doubt?  You think David may have had times where he asks the Lord, “Are you still on my side God?  Are You still with me?”  You bet ya he did.

I was thinking about this regarding prayer.  This sovereignty of God.  We come to God when it’s a big deal.  When there is a surgery.  We pray, “Lord, help us through this surgery.” And rightfully so.  We should pray like that.  We pray, “Lord, be with the nurses and the doctors.  Let them be fresh and not tired.  Let them be alert.”

Because we know the God is sovereign.  We know that He is over all.  We read through all those wonderful passages in the first sermon that God holds the heart of the king and that God controls what is above the earth and what is below in the seas and all the deeps.

I was thinking regarding this in the differences in how prayer is offered if things are less out of our hands, as if nothing is in our hands.  He holds it all.

If my daughter was driving two hours away, I would pray that the car would make it.  I would pray that she be alert.  I would pray that the belt does what the belt is supposed to do and that the crank shaft would crank and that the alternator would alternate.  But how differently I pray if she is going five minutes away.  I would not pray at all.  Or if I were driving the prayer would be different.

The things which we feel are in our control we think we can accomplish.  This is your reminder, there is no sin in not praying that you make it home from church today.  The wrong is feeling confident that we have control of some things and God has control of the big things.  Everything is life and death.  Every heart beat.  Every breath that we take is life and death.  Every microscopic particle in our body is life and death and God controls it.

John Flavel was a terrific Puritan pastor who wrote and taught extensively on Sanctified Affliction.  We will spend more time on this next week, but permit me to introduce it here. 

He says that Christians must view suffering as one would read Hebrew.  His point is in that Hebrew is read right to left.  English is read left to right.  So from an English perspective, what Flavel is saying, is we must view suffering from the end and looking back.

In another way, we begin with this playdough.  It is a child’s toy.  But as we look at this playdough we can make it into anything.  It depends on what skill level.  We can make a ball.  That is easy.  I have very little skill, so I can make a ball.  There are others who are artistic and can use that gift and skill and make something spectacular. 

Whatever the skill level, there is a process.  In this process there will be things removed that should not be there.  We can press the playdough into a mold and it becomes that mold.  The end product being exactly what we desire.

In the believer’s life, we serve a God who molds us.  There are several passages of Scripture that speak of this process. 

There are season’s of molding in which God has led me that I deserved His wrath but rather He gave me discipline.  I look backwards, just like reading Hebrew, I look at the event(s) and look at where I am and realize, these things happened because I needed shaped into holiness.  It is not Karma – It is the potter shaping the pot.

There are also season’s of suffering in which God has led me that were not a response to any specific rebellion on my part.  The end result, looking back, God shaped me and He is to be praised. 

God is sovereign and God is good.  God is sovereign and rules over them perfectly and for His glory. 

Think of Paul who had “far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,[b] in cold and exposure. “ (2 Corinthians 11:23c-27)

This is suffering.  This is suffering that we could not imagine.  His attitude?  “We do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17)

Can you see that?  You think of the suffering of Naomi.  The loss is severe.  The loss is tragic.  Her loss, your loss and my loss, is nothing in comparison to what awaits us.  This momentary affliction is no comparison.  What awaits us a one million to the one million power of glory that we can’t comprehend. 

Naomi had a bitter cup that she had to endure.  It consumed her.  I don’t think any of us really want to be in Naomi’s position. 

Yet at the same time we see the suffering Christ in Naomi’s plight.  Can you see Jesus here? 

We are beginning our ascent to Easter Sunday.  Jesus drank a cup of bitterness on our behalf. 

“Father, if there is any other way, please. Let this cup pass.”  Our Lord personally faced the deadly bitterness Naomi faced.  He took bitter death upon himself.

Jesus has led us in paths of righteousness for HIS name’s sake.  It is for the glory of God alone that this cup of bitterness was consumed.

Now I look here at Naomi’s recollection of things.  While it may be true that God will discipline the believer it is not always true that this is the reason for rough times.

I do want to reiterate this: from the first week.  Sometimes, rough times do beset us because we are in need of that.  We need to be shaped. It is not stated in the text of Ruth, but based on what the Law of Moses says, the reason for the famine was disobedience. 

Isn’t it so like us that Naomi has selective recall.  I went away full and YHWH brought me back empty.  You left in distrust.  You left because there was no food.

This is where I see myself.  I can see me in Elimelech.  Psalm 37:3, “Dwell in the land and thou shalt be fed.”  But they left the land.  I just need to provide for my family.  Elimelech looks around and reasons, I am doing all this running but I am standing still.  There is nothing for us.  I will go over here.

It is not unusual in our bitter moments to have recall the good and not the bad.  This is what Naomi is doing.  She did not leave full.  She left in need.  She left in want.  She left in disobedience.