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Transcript

Have You Heard? · Enjoying the Journey

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  The Book of Ruth begins in dark days, but even in
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  the darkness, God was at work. Through loss,
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  uncertainty, and unexpected turns, we discover
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  a beautiful story of grace, redemption,
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  and hope. Join Scott Pauley for this new study, The Gospel
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  According to Ruth. Light for Dark Days.
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  Have you heard the news? We hear so much information
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  in this media age, the 24/7 news
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  cycle, and frankly, so much of it is bad news
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  in this corrupt culture. That's not going to go away. But have
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  you heard the good news? Have you heard It echoes through the corridors of time
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  to this present hour. Do you know what it is?
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  God is at work, that God
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  is able, that God is more than enough.
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  We're in Ruth chapter number 1, and we've been walking through
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  the famine with Elimelech and Naomi and Ruth and learning not
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  to operate in the flesh, not to live in fear, but to respond in faith.
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  And before we go any further, I'd like to back up if I may for
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  a moment, to a fascinating verse. I think it's important
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  to realize that the famine is the start of the story,
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  but it is not the end of the story. Remember I said to
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  you already, the famine is not going to last forever. God's going to last forever.
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  Now this chapter opens with the famine, but it closes with a harvest.
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  In fact, if you get to the end of chapter 1, the last phrase
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  of chapter 1 is in the beginning of barley harvest.
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  So we've moved now from a time of no bread to a time
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  of lots of bread, a new beginning. The chapter is going
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  to pass. There's a little verse that I alluded
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  to as we read over it, and I said we'll come back to this verse.
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  I don't want to, to miss it. I don't want you to miss it.
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  It is verse number 6. What was the
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  thing that prompted Naomi's return to Bethlehem?
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  What was the reason that she arose to start with,
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  and Ruth went along with her, and they made their way out of Moab.
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  Look at verse number 6. The Bible says she arose with her daughters-in-law that she
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  might return from the country of Moab, for she
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  had heard in the country of Moab how
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  that the Lord had visited his people in giving them
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  bread. You remember, 10 years previous Her husband
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  Elimelech had left Bethlehem to go down to Moab searching
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  for bread because they had heard
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  that things were just going to be really bad in Bethlehem and they
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  shouldn't stay there. And what a contrast.
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  In verse number 1, you've got a man taking his, his cues
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  from the news, getting his news from the world
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  and the culture and circumstances. But in verse number 6,
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  You have a woman who is taking her news from the report
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  she hears, from the word that has been spread, from the good
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  news. You know, in an age where there's so much bad
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  news and so much evil reports, so much wickedness,
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  I think it's a tremendous application to us that we should be
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  listening what it is the Lord wants to say to us, what it is God
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  is up to in this world. Have you heard Let me give you 2 or
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  3 things that I think we must hear from this story before we go any
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  further. Number one, I hope you'll hear that the Lord visits his
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  people in the darkest days. Our God,
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  who is light and in him is no darkness at all,
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  knows what is in the darkness, and he has a way of piercing the
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  darkness. Remember Genesis chapter 1? God said light, and there was light,
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  and it was very good. And I know in Ruth chapter 1 these are dark
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  days But there is light. There is some good news
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  in the midst of this darkness. Isn't that always how the
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  Lord works? Do you remember in the Exodus from Egypt, when did he bring them
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  out? In the nighttime hour of Israel,
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  in the dark days of their bondage in Egypt.
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  Read the book of Exodus again. That's the Old Testament example. Then come to
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  the New Testament. When did Christ come? When did Messiah show up on the scene?
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  Read Read Luke chapter number 1. Those who sat in darkness have seen
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  a great light. You see, the Lord knows his people and
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  he knows right where they are. God knows your address.
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  And aren't you glad the Lord makes house calls? And he makes house calls at
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  all hours. And maybe it's the midnight of your life right now.
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  The Lord visits his people in the darkest days.
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  Have you heard? Have you heard, number 2, that the
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  Lord gives bread in the direst circumstances.
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  You see, bad things will happen even in
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  good places. Bethlehem is a demonstration
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  of that, because bad things happen in every place. But I
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  would also point out to you that good things can happen in
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  bad circumstances. Here they are sitting
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  in Moab. Here they are sitting in a pagan land.
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  Here they are, 3 widows just absolutely
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  at the bottom of it, and yet God is giving bread.
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  I'm remembering now how God gave that manna in the wilderness.
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  Jesus came, John chapter 6, and said, I am the bread
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  of life. Oh, the Lord always satisfies the hungry
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  heart. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they
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  shall be filled. Psalm 132, verse number 15, I will abundantly
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  bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with bread.
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  Are you poor today? Oh, the Lord's got enough bread for you, bread enough and
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  to spare. Come to the Lord. Have you heard the
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  Lord visits his people in the darkest days? Have you heard the
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  Lord gives bread in the direst circumstances? Have you
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  heard the Lord sends the message of hope to the most distant
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  people? You remember they're in Moab, they're a long ways,
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  and they are back toward the wilderness. And they're not only
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  quite a distance geographically, but chronologically, 10 years
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  have been wasted. 10 years gone. Maybe I'm talking
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  to someone right now. You feel like you're a long ways from God.
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  I want to tell you, God's not a long ways from you. No, he's trailed
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  you. He's followed you. He's been pursuing you. Turn around.
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  You'll see him there. He's waiting on you. You, you think,
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  I'm so far from God. He's as close as your breath.
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  He is as close as a prayer. Lord,
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  help me. He's there. Maybe you think, but I've
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  wasted so much time. Well, sin does that.
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  The old adage of sin takes you farther than you want to go,
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  keeps you longer than you want to stay, costs you more than
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  you want to pay. Boy, that's Naomi's story, isn't it? But I'm glad
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  to tell you that scripture reveals that our God can restore even the years the
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  locusts have eaten. Maybe the plagues have broken through on your life and consumed everything,
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  and you think your life is eaten up. But I want to remind you
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  that no matter where you are in Moab, no matter how many years you are
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  removed, the Lord is visiting his people. The Lord
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  is giving bread. This is what everybody
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  needs to hear. Proverbs 25 and verse number 25 comes
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  to mind: As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news
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  from a far country. I want to tell you that when Naomi heard
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  the report from her hometown that they had bread again, that was good news
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  from a far country. Isn't it just like the Lord to send good news when
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  we're in a bad mess? Romans 2,
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  verse 4 says the goodness of God leads us to repentance.
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  Maybe, maybe it's you that needs to hear it. Maybe you're a long
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  ways from God. Maybe you're in the mess that your own sin
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  has produced. I want to tell you, God is good.
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  God is enough. God is able. Have you heard?
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  Then repent and do exactly what Naomi did and return
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  and come to the Lord. Stop listening to your,
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  your own thoughts and stop listening to the accuser of the brethren and stop
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  listening to everybody else in the world around you and listen to the Lord.
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  The Lord is visiting his people.
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  Don't miss him as he passes by. And then if
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  you've heard and you say, yes, yes, I know the good news, wonderful, I would
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  ask you this: have others heard? You see, those who have heard have to tell
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  others. There's a Ruth near you, Naomi. There's, there's somebody close
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  to you that needs to hear you speak the
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  word of God. Romans chapter 10 talks about the word of faith
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  being nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, the word of faith
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  which we preach. Look, if you've heard it, then tell it.
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  Let somebody else hear. How shall they believe if
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  they've never heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher.
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  She had heard in the country of Moab how the Lord had visited his people
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  in giving them bread. I want to stop and say, praise God,
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  we have heard. Now let's tell someone
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  else. Thank you
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  for joining us for today's study. If you've enjoyed
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  this journey through Ruth, visit us at etj.bible and
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  explore our Journey Through Scripture section. Where you'll find overviews,
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  Bible teaching, and preaching for every book of the Bible.
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  simply click Give at etj.bible.
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  Until next time, keep following God's Word and finding
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  Christ's joy.