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Have You Found Your Place? · Enjoying the Journey

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  The Book of Ruth begins in dark days,
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  but even in the darkness, God was at work.
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  Through loss, uncertainty, and unexpected turns,
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  we discover a beautiful story of grace,
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  redemption, and hope. Join Scott Pauley for this new
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  study, The Gospel According to Ruth. Light for Dark
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  Frequently I hear people say that they're trying to find their
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  place in this world, or they're trying to find their place
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  in life. I think that's true really of every human being.
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  They're trying to, to find a place where they're accepted,
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  to find a place where there's meaning, to find a place where
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  they're loved. Well, can I help you find your place today?
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  Our rightful place is at the feet of
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  the Lord Jesus Christ. The earth is his footstool. He is the creator
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  of the world. He is the Lord of all. He is the judge of
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  all. We know where the story ends. Read the book of Revelation.
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  It ends at the feet of our Lord. But we're
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  in the book of Ruth, and in the book of Ruth, we're learning that that
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  is not just where we're going when we die, that is actually the
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  way we ought to live. This is your place,
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  dear friend. Have you found your place? Can I let you in on a
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  little secret? When you find your place with God, he will help you find your
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  place in every other arena of life. Now, when God is in his rightful
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  place and you are where you need to be with him, the Lord is going
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  to order everything else. And if you don't believe me, let Ruth testify.
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  She'll tell you. And so we return to Ruth chapter number 3. In our last
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  study, we found this very unique expression found repeatedly,
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  uh, that Ruth went at night, uh, she, she pulled back
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  the, the COVID of Boaz, and he's, he's lying
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  on a threshing floor. It's an open place. Uh, there are others, uh,
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  within eyesight and earshot, and so there's nothing undue
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  about what she's doing. And she positions herself there
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  at the feet of Boaz. Why would she do that?
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  Well, in the culture and the custom of the day, she was
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  saying to him, I choose you, I,
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  I love you, I want to, to give myself to you,
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  but it is your choice. That's interesting, isn't it? It is a— it's
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  a place of, of yieldedness, of commitment, but of yieldedness.
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  You should mark these places in your Bible: in verse 4, in verse 7,
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  in in verse 8, in verse 13, and in
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  verse 14. 5 times you find this phrase
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  or some variation of it, at his feet.
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  Now let's take the 2 characters today and I'll show you the place that each
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  of them has. First of all, there's Boaz. And what
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  is his place? His place, that's the place of the kinsman redeemer.
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  There are basically 3 requirements if you were going to be
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  a kinsman redeemer. A kinsman, of course
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  we know that means family, and so they, they had to
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  have that kind of relationship. Redeemer means to buy back, to purchase
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  something, which meant they had to be wealthy enough to have the means to
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  make the purchase. In that day, if a widow came,
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  her husband has died, she may or may not
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  have children, but she has whatever inheritance, whatever belongings
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  were left from her deceased husband, she could be
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  redeemed, but she had to be redeemed by someone who
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  was connected to the family in a way and had the
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  means to do so. This is a kinsman redeemer. So Boaz in
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  the story of Ruth is the kinsman redeemer. Here's the 3 requirements. First,
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  you had to be related. That meant you had to have a connection.
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  Second, you had to be rich. You had to have the ability to
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  make the purchase. And third is very important: you had to be ready, which meant
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  you had to be willing. Now remember, Boaz is a picture of our kinsman
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  redeemer, uh, the, the lovely Son of God who became
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  the Son of Man, a God robed in flesh,
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  the incarnate Christ. And why did he come?
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  He came for one purpose: so he could redeem us.
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  Galatians 4:4: When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son
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  Made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
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  them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of
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  sons. So this is Christ. Christ related
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  to us through his perfect humanity.
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  Christ rich with all the riches of God and
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  all the riches of grace and all the riches of glory in Christ Jesus.
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  And then Christ ready to save. Willing,
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  not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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  Aren't you glad Christ is all? Boaz was just a picture.
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  Christ is the perfect fulfillment. Boaz was the shadow.
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  Christ is the substance. Do you see in this man
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  in Ruth the beautiful symbolism
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  of our Savior who comes to us with a
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  heart that wants to redeem us and hands full of the grace
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  and love of Almighty God to redeem us. What a Savior we
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  have. So what is the place of our heavenly Boaz?
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  He's in charge, friends. This is his world by
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  creation. It is his world by redemption. It will be
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  his world in the consummation. Christ is the one who
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  is the master. And then you have Ruth.
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  If Boaz is the kinsman redeemer, who is Ruth?
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  Ruth is the soul that is seeking to find
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  its place in this world. She was a soul seeking to find her place.
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  And may I just say, the best place in the world is at
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  the feet of Jesus. There are 3 things that mark, uh,
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  this position that she takes at his feet. First, it was a place
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  of submission. It is where the servants and where the students
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  went. This was not a demeaning thing. It was a place of
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  learning and instruction. Do you remember in the book of Acts, uh, the Apostle Paul
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  talked about sitting at the feet of Gamaliel? He meant
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  by that he learned from him. It's a, it's a picture of humility,
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  of submission. It's not only a place of submission, it is a
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  place of trust. She says to Boaz in Ruth chapter
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  3, spread your skirt over me. Literally, she said,
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  I believe that you have enough to cover all of my needs.
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  That was the, that was the typology there of the, the phrase that she
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  uses. Spread your skirt over me. Literally, protect me.
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  Remember in our previous study in chapter 2, the picture of
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  coming under the wings of another to be covered?
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  Friend, I got good news for you today. Christ has you covered.
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  His blood has you covered. His grace has you covered.
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  His providence has you covered. His strength has you covered.
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  Come and find your place. Yield to the Lord, and you'll find there
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  all that you need in him. It's a place of submission, it's a place of
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  trust, and then ultimately it's a place of devotion.
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  Remember, this is a book of, of romance and redemption.
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  Verse number 10, he says to her, blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter,
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  for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning,
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  inasmuch as thou followest not young men whether poor or rich. He said, you could
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  have had any man, you could have chosen any young man But
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  you chose me, and you, you pledged your heart to me. You've given
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  devotion to me. Friends, listen to me. True love is not attraction
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  to appearance. True love is devotion from the heart.
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  Let me tell you where the best place is, the blessed place is.
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  It's at the feet of Jesus. It's the place of intimacy
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  with Christ where you experience the love of God that Christ shows
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  to us and you respond in love to him. Read the gospel
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  records. Do you remember in Luke chapter number 7, the woman with the alabaster box
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  breaking it, pouring it on Jesus? Do you know where she was? At his feet.
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  Do you remember Mary in Luke chapter 10 who chose the good part? What,
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  what place did she take? At his feet.
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  Do you remember in Luke chapter 17, the Samaritan that had been healed of leprosy?
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  And he comes and he falls down at the feet of Jesus,
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  giving him thanks and giving him praise. In Luke chapter number 8,
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  there's a demon-possessed man. When he's made whole, he finds his
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  place at the feet of Jesus. Again, same chapter, Luke chapter
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  8, Jairus. Remember his daughter? Christ performs
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  an amazing miracle and Jairus falls at his feet and worships and gives
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  him praise and blesses him. I'm telling you that the
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  greatest place in the world is at the feet of Jesus.
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  Most people are so concerned about who they're over. You ought to be concerned about
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  who you're under. Because if you'll find your place at his
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  feet, you'll have found the greatest place in this
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  world and the world to come.
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  Thank you for joining us for today's study. If you've enjoyed
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  this journey through Ruth, visit us at etj.bible
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  and explore our Journey Through Scripture section,
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  where you'll find overviews, Bible teaching, and preaching for every
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  Until next time, keep following God's Word and finding
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  Christ's joy.