There are many accounts in the Bible of people’s lives that serve as an example and an encouragement to our hearts, and the book of Ruth is no exception. Many look at this book and see nothing more than a love story. It may be love story of sorts, but that is the most shallow interpretation of this book. The bigger picture is that of a lost sinner who, through divine providence, is brought into a committed relationship with God and is made to be an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are living in a day when real commitment is a rare item. Young adults (and even some older) don’t want to commit themselves in marriage but choose instead just to live together in fornication. Employees often seem to just “want a paycheck” and are not committed to their jobs, etc. Even among God’s people there seems to be little true commitment to the Lord and His church. One of my great fears as a pastor is that as we see some church members fall by the wayside that their unfaithfulness will discourage and affect others who will then follow their example. I have seen it happen. I have shared the testimony of one young lady who got caught up in that very thing. Some may say, “You don’t trust God.” It’s not that. I know people, and I know how we often react when we feel like everyone else has deserted us and left us alone Remember Elijah? Remember what he said in I Kings 19:4, 10: “O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers . . . (10) I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” Of course, we know the Lord said (vs. 18): “I have left me seven thousand in Israel . . . which have not bowed unto Baal . . . ” In the verses of our text today, and throughout this book, we see in Ruth a tremendous example of commitment, faithfulness, and a steadfast life. She teaches us about remaining faithful even when others around us do not. So, let's look into these verses and see “What To Do When Others (Around You) Are Quitting.”

  I. RUTH’S CONDITION -- Vv. 1-7.

 II. RUTH'S CHALLENGE -- VV. 8-15.

III.  RUTH’S COMMITMENT -- Vv. 16-22.

God's most important characteristic is His holiness. It is also His most exalted attribute. Many today want to focus only on the love of God, but His love comes out of His holiness. And (as I have said many times before) you DO NOT violate God’s holiness and “get away” with it. God’s character is one of absolute purity, perfection, and integrity. The Old Testament writers and prophets held strong convictions about the holiness of God. Psalm 145:17 says, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” Psalm 99:9 tells us “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.” God's holiness is a doctrine we rarely seem to study today. His holiness is even more rarely understood, even by people who profess to be His children. In His holiness God exceeds all limits of purity and majesty known to man. It will be a great day when we fully realize that God is above us and beyond us. “Holy” is almost a foreign word in many churches today. In this day of “Christian” comedians, “Christian” rock and roll, and “Christian” nightclubs, many who are saved do not truly understand the personality of God. They do not fully understand what worship of God is all about. In the attempt to bring God down to man’s level, we have forgotten that it is impossible to do that because He is high, and holy, and lifted up. One of the best places to get a glimpse of the holiness of God is in Isaiah 6:1-8. Even though the prophet recalled King Uzziah who was a very popular king in Israel, Isaiah saw a vision of another King. Isaiah 6 records for us the words, “I saw the Lord.” Can you imagine what Isaiah saw when He saw the Lord? He says he saw the Lord “high and lifted up.” He also saw the angels gathered round the throne of glory proclaiming, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” The Bible never repeats a word by accident. By giving the word “holy” 3 times, it emphasizes the nature of our God. He is the thrice holy God. In John 17:11 God the Father is called “Holy Father.” In Acts 3:14 God the Son is called “the Holy One.” And in Ephesians 4:30 God the Spirit is called the “Holy Spirit.” When Isaiah was confronted with and convicted by God's holiness he immediately recognized his own sinfulness. He said, “Woe is me for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips.” "Woe" is a lamentation of sorrow or grief. “For I am undone” is literally saying, "I am going to die!" (UNDONE = to fail or perish) Each of us, as God’s children, need to be similarly convicted so that we, too, recognize that holiness. When we fully understand Who God is an humbling should take place in our hearts (just like Isaiah). Isaiah came to this place and very quickly recognized his insignificance in the presence of a holy God. In this day when we feel we must cause everyone to “feel good” about God and about themselves, the fact is that when Isaiah got very close to God, he didn’t feel good about himself at all. He said, “There are some things in my life that need to change.” Today believers in America do not need a God that gives us the “warm fuzzies” all over. America needs a fresh glimpse of God that causes us to say, “We need to change some things in our lives.” As a preacher of the Word it is not my responsibility to try to take away from God's glory in order to help people understand Him. Instead, it is my prayer (and I believe my responsibility) to present our God in such a way that the Holy Spirit will give us a glimpse of His holiness through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That we find ourselves of getting a fresh glimpse of Who God is, and what He wants in our lives. Notice with me now a few things about the holiness of God. Notice, first of all, that . . .

I. THE WORKS OF GOD ARE HOLY -- PSALM 145:17.

II. THE WORD OF GOD IS HOLY.

III. HIS WILL FOR OUR LIVES IS HOLY.

We live in a time when things are changing almost on a daily basis. There are changes in technology. Just in my lifetime we have gone from rotary dial , to touch tone, to cell phones. We have advanced from record players, to 4-track, to 8-track, to cassettes, to CD's, to digital. We have increased from a few thousand on the internet, to millions, even billions, and internet traffic continues to increase. There are changes socially. Today, a man's word is rarely his bond. Marital problems are no longer the exception but seem to be the rule. We have young people who interact more with video games than they do with their parents. There are changes politically. Nationalism is declining, and globalism is growing. In the U.S., if we are not there, we are on the fast track to socialism. There are changes religiously. Churches are moving from, “Preach the word” to social and “feel good” messages, teaching less and less doctrine. And many claim that we are now living in a post-Christian era in America. Yet, in this time when more change seems to take place in a year than over the past hundreds of years, we serve a God who does not change! He is a God Who is faithful and true, and we are going to talk about that faithfulness today. In Malachi 3:6: “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Human nature cannot be relied upon, but we can trust in a God Whose faithfulness uphold the world at this very moment. God's Word declares over and over again the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father: I Corinthians 1:9 ; Isaiah 25:1 ; Psalm 36:5. His very name speaks of His faithfulness -- Revelation 19:11. Many other verses speak of His faithfulness -- Psalm 40:10 ; Psalm 89:1-2, 5, 8 ; Psalm 119:90. Vs. 9 of our text says that God “is the faithful God.” Faithful (Hebrew) means to support, bear; to be firm, faithful; here, to be trusty. The Greek word means to be trusty, trustworthy, worthy of confidence; of persons, one on whom we may rely; dependable. This is the character of our God. You can depend upon Him! We see first that . . .

I. HE IS FAITHFUL IN HIS PERSONALITY -- VS. 9a.

II. GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS PROVISION -- VS. 8.

III. GOD IS FAITHFUL IN HIS PROMISES -- VV. 9-10.

This IS NOT so much a message on the condition of the church at Laodicea as it is a message on a danger to and the condition of many of the Lord’s churches today! We have a problem in the Lord’s churches today, and it is this: We believe, but we do it without zeal or enthusiasm for the things of God. It is as if we are yawning in the face of the Lord God Almighty Himself. In many ways it says to God, “You don’t excite me. You don’t thrill me. Your work is a burden.” Remember what I John 5:3 says? “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (GRIEVOUS = weighty, burdensome, a load to bear.) The book of Revelation can be very easily outlined with 3 divisions: 1) The things that were (the things John had seen), 2) The things that are (the church age), and 3) The things that are to come. The “things that are” are found in chapters 2 and 3. Those chapters contain the Lord’s letters which He dictated to John to the 7 churches of Asia. Some say these letters picture the entirety of the Church Age. The characteristics named for each church present the dominant characteristic for the period of the Church Age that each church represents. If that is so, and we are living in the last days, we are living in the Laodicean Period, and the dominant trait of that church and this age is – Lukewarmness. Listen to what the Lord says. [TEXT] In the first chapter of Revelation Jesus is pictured as standing in the middle of seven golden candlesticks – vs. 13. Vs. 16 says He held “in his right hand seven stars,” and vs. 20 gives us “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.” The seven stars are “the angels of the seven churches.” (ANGEL = messenger.) A church of the Lord Jesus Christ better pray that her pastor is in the hand of Jesus! This reveals Who is in control of the one bringing the message to the church. The seven golden candlesticks are “the seven churches.” What did Jesus say in Matthew 18:20? We NEED Jesus in the very middle, in the midst of this church. This pictures fellowship. When we get down to vs. 20 we’re going to find Him where He is in relation to some churches -- on the outside. (I pray WE never put Him there.) In vs. 14 Jesus says two things about Himself. He is “the Amen.” (He didn’t just say, “amen,” He IS the Amen – the One who is steady and unchangeable in all of His purposes and promises.) He is “the faithful and true witness” -- He is the One who ought to be received and fully believed, and whose testimony of men to God will be fully believed and regarded. So whatever He says, we can count on, and He says to this church and to many churches today, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.” They were too hot to be cold and too cold to be hot. Have you ever forgotten a cup of coffee? It hasn’t cooled off so that it is cold, but it just isn't as good as a fresh, hot cup of coffee. That is what so many churches and believers are like today. So He begins by warning this church . . . and us of . . .

I. THE CURSE OF LUKEWARMNESS – VV. 15-16.

II. THE CAUSE OF LUKEWARMNESS – VS. 17.

III. THE CURE FOR LUKEWARMNESS – VS. 18.

What is the most valuable thing in your life? It can be a material possession, a person, an activity, etc. What one thing in your life, if you had to do without it, would affect your life the most? God's Word teaches us that anything that comes between us and God is an idol Anything we love more, fear more, serve more, or worship more than God is an idol god. On that basis, most (American) believers would have to plead guilty to idol worship. The name of our primary idol is spelled S-E-L-F. This message deals with priorities. Matthew 6:33 tells us, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God . . . " Matthew 22:37-38 says "Thou shalt love the Lord . . . this is the first and great commandment." One of our greatest problems today is maintaining proper priorities in our lives as children of God. This has often been a problem for God's people. In our text the Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity. One would think they would be so thankful to God for their freedom and that worship would be their priority. However, instead of working on the Temple, they began to build houses for themselves. (What a contrast with the attitude of David in I Chronicles 17:1. The Temple in the Old Testament is a picture of New Testament churches. In the early days of the Jerusalem church, people sold their lands and goods and gave to the church (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32, 36-37.) In these last days of the Church Age, few show such great love for the Lord and His churches. We're busy doing things that won't amount to anything in 50 years while the Lord's churches go lacking. God's words to Israel should serve as a warning to us. As Haggai spoke to these we see:

I. THEIR PRACTICE.

II. THE PROTEST -- VV. 3-8.

III. THE PENALTY -- VV. 9-11.

Have you ever wondered, "Can God really use me?" If you have, I encourage you to look at Timothy. Some say he was around 30 years old at this time. Paul (after at least 2 years at Ephesus) had left him there as pastor of this young church. Timothy encountered several problems at Ephesus: False doctrine and legalists (Judaizers); Issues about the public worship; The need for qualified leaders; Some may have questioned his youth (4:12). Greek society believed a man came of age around 40; Materialism (chap. 6) & others. In an effort to encourage this servant of God, Paul uses his life as an example of what God can do through His grace amd power. He says, "Timothy, look at me. See what God has done in me." He knew if Timothy could see that God could take him (Paul) with all his baggage, save him and use him, He could do great things through Timothy as well. These verses are a look at Paul's personal testimony. In them we see that what God did in, to, for, and through Paul; He can do in to, for, and through any one of us. We only have to make ourselves available to Him. "It's not your ability God wants; it's your availability." Let's notice:

  I.  THE TESTIMONY OF A SINNER -- VV. 13, 15.

 II.  THE TESTIMONY OF A SAINT -- VV. 13-14.

III.  THE TESTIMONY OF A SERVANT -- VS. 12.

The next great event on God’s timeline for this world is the resurrection and rapture, or catching up of the saved. This message deals with that event. In Titus 2:13 Paul calls it our “blessed hope.” So, the thought of the rapture should not frighten us, but it should give us great comfort (I Thessalonians 4:18). The Lord's coming has been the hope of believers since the first century. In Acts 1:6 the Lord’s disciples asked Him, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” In vs. 7 Jesus told them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (This is not something you need to worry about.) Then, in vs. 8 He said, “. . . ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . ” This goes along with last week’s message. We can get so caught up thinking about getting caught up that we don’t get caught up in our purpose here and now. Now, concerning the coming of Christ I Thessalonians 4:16-17 tells us: “ . . . the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” . The “last days” will culminate with the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in two stages: First, He comes in the air for His saints. Then He comes (to earth) with His saints. But we know that not everyone has this hope. Not everyone who hears this message will believe it to be truthful or hopeful. Some scoff at the idea of Jesus coming again. And, God’s Word tells us that's the spirit that will prevail in the last days -- II Peter 3:1-4. Kevin Philips, a left-wing political strategist, writing against Christian influence in government ranked people who believe the Bible as “hucksters” and likened them to the Shiite ayatollahs. But this is still a Baptist church, and we believe (as all true Baptists do) that the Bible is the authority in matters of faith and practice. And, we come here to open our Bibles and hear what God has to say to His people. There are many indications that we are living in the last days. There is the desire of many to promote globalism in this world. We are hearing talk of a global currency, and we already have the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and many other such “global” institutions. Things we could only imagine 40-50 years ago are being proposed today in real life. Today we can have comfort because we know God is in control and everything is right on course. And our hope is based on what we learn from God's Word, which is our “more sure word of prophecy” (II Peter 1:19). I don't care what the politicians say. I don't care what the media says. I don't care what those who don't know the Bible say. They are not going to stop Jesus from returning, and they are not going to derail God’s plan. What I care about is, what does the Bible say? And that's what we're going to examine in this message. We see:

I. THE PROMISE OF THE RAPTURE.

II. THE PROSPECT (HOPE) OF THE RAPTURE -- Vv. 16b-17.

III. THE PREPARATION FOR THE RAPTURE.

There are many different attitudes among believers in our world today. Just three of them are: #1 Sincerity – First of all, many are, indeed, sincere. They: 1) Are genuinely contrite before God, 2) Are mortified at sin -- in general and sin in their own lives, 3) Take seriously the commands of Christ, 4) Want nothing more than to do the will of God, 5) Their lives revolve around emulating Jesus, 6) These are truly Christians. #2 Security -- Others simply see themselves as secure. 1) They believe they have a ticket to Heaven and nothing else really matters much, 2) They live shallow, selfish lives, 3) They are jealous, proud, and sometimes guilty of gross corruption and treachery, 4) Their hypocrisy drives people away from Christ. #3 Satisfaction -- Still others are merely satisfied. They: 1) Go to church. They sing. And sometimes they read their Bible, 2) They try to be a “good Christian,” but they are basically clueless, 3) For some -- their marriage is on the rocks, and their children dress, act, and think like the world, 4) Often, they listen to and believe today’s atheistic “experts.” Unfortunately, many of these believers -- maybe even some in the “sincere” category -- have adopted an attitude I call “Abandonment Theology.” For this reason, many lives and many churches are weak and ineffective. It is also the reason true Christianity is “losing out” today -- even in true churches.

The Bible is full of many wonderful and powerful prayers. Some estimate there are over 650 different prayers recorded in the Word of God. Obviously, time will not permit us even to make reference to all of them. We have recorded for us the prayers of the Apostle Paul, of David, of Nehemiah, and many more. Probably the greatest prayers are those of Jesus when He prayed, “Not my will, but thine be done” and “Father, forgive them” for they know not what they are doing. Have you ever prayed “in desperation?” Desperation talks about a state of despair. Despair speaks of the complete loss of or the absence of hope. The Bible is full of accounts of those who reached times of times of “holy desperation” and prayed. Lamentations 5:1-22 is the prayer of Jeremiah for his nation. Notice his plea in vs. 21 near the end of that prayer:"Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.” In Micah 7 (vv. 1-3) Micah prays due to the condition of the nation: “Woe is me! . . . 2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly . . . ” Jesus said before He comes there would be a time of of “perplexity” (has idea of losing one’s way). God’s people today are faced with a combination of forces that can only be met by the intervention of God. But here’s the problem: The situation today is desperate, but God’s people, by and large, are not. Today we are going to look at the prayer of Jehoshaphat. He prayed a powerful prayer in a time of great desperation. We'll see:

  I. THE PROBLEM -- VV. 1-2.

 II. THE PROCLAMATION -- VV. 3-4.

III.  THE PRAYER – VV. 5-13.

IV. THE PROPHECY – VV. 14-17.

V.  THE PRAISE – VV. 18-19.

“One reason we don’t have a revival is because a lot of people don’t want revival.”

Dr. Vance Havner

As you can tell from the title of the message, this morning we are going to talk about revival -- not revival services, but personal and church revival. Many consider a “good” revival to be one in which a “dynamic” pastor from another church comes and preaches “hard” messages. (But we can have revival without that.) The success of a revival effort is usually determined by the number of people that attend, or walk the aisles, etc. But here is the best way to find out if we have really had revival - check back in six months to a year and see if people are still committed and faithfully serving God. The best examples of real revival are in God’s Word. In Judah, prior to Josiah, the nation was not enjoying God's blessisngs because of their idolatry, their immorality, and their broken fellowship with Him. The Lord's churches today can get into a similar condition when they are spiritually weak (we have more than the early churches, and we do less with it.), trying to live for God and the flesh -- Matthew 6:24, or guilty of idolatry -- Colossians 3:5. Just as Judah needed a revival, we need one when we find ourselves back in the “same old rut.” The first twenty verses of our text, and verse 24 tell us of all the reforms Josiah made in Judah, but vv. 25-26 are key to understanding this entire passage in Second Kings. By examining the things Josiah did to try to bring revival to Judah, we can find what we need in order to have a real revival . . . but they must be done with a heart wholly dedicated to God. We must seek true revival not because it is what “the preacher wants.” But we must seek revival because we have recognize our condition and our need for true repentance. In these verses we see:

I. THE CORRECTIONS BY JOSIAH -- 23:1-24.

II. THE CALAMITY OF JERUSALEM - VS. 26.