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How to Find Rest · 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 a
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  beautiful story of grace, redemption, and hope.
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  Join Scott Pauley for this new study, The Gospel According
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  to Ruth. Light for Dark Days.
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  We live in a frantic world, rushing here and
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  there, hurrying through life, busy,
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  trying desperately to find peace. And yet,
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  that's never the Lord's way. No, instead,
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  the Lord deals with us totally different than
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  that. Do you remember what he said to Israel in the book of Exodus?
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  Stand still and see
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  the salvation of the Lord. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 46,
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  verse 10, the words of God: Be still and
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  know that I am God.
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  We're in Ruth chapter 3, and we have identified
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  2 of the main characters. One is Boaz, the kinsman redeemer picturing our
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  Christ. And the second is Ruth, the soul seeking to find
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  her place. And of course, she found it in Boaz. And we
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  find our place only through the Lord Jesus. But could I point out a
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  third character in Ruth chapter 3 today? It's you.
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  It's me. You know, when you read the Bible, it's not just a lens
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  on people in history, it's a mirror on you. What is the significance
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  of the story? What's the application that grows out
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  of the interpretation. Well, there's a key phrase that for
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  the last couple of studies we've concentrated on, and that is to lay at the
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  feet of Jesus. To, to lay something down— that's what
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  happened on an altar. They would, they would lay that sacrifice upon
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  the altars, a place of humble submission and surrender.
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  But I want to add to that phrase another great Bible phrase found at
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  the end of Ruth chapter 3 today. Let's pick up our reading in
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  verse number 14 and read to the end of the chapter. The Bible says,
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  and she, that is Ruth, lay at his feet until the morning.
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  And she arose up before one could know another, and he said, let it not
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  be known that a woman came into the floor. Also he said,
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  bring the veil that thou hast upon thee and hold it. And when she held
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  it, he measured 6 measures of barley and laid it on her,
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  and she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said,
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  who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done
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  to her, and she said, These 6 measures
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  of barley gave he me, for he said to me, go not empty unto thy
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  mother-in-law. Then said she, sit still, my daughter,
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  until thou know how the matter will fall, for the man will
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  not be in rest until he have
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  finished the thing this day. Now we're going to come back to this
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  passage and look at the bounty and the blessing
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  that he bestows upon her, but I'd like you to mark something in your Bible
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  and in your thinking in verse number 18. 2 little
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  words: sit still. Sit still sounds
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  a lot like his word to Israel, stand still, and his word in the Psalms,
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  be still. Do you know what stillness is?
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  It's quiet. It's waiting. It's trusting.
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  It's listening. We talked in our last study about finding your place.
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  This is the place of patience and the place of peace.
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  This is when you get to the place where you realize You can't
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  make this happen, but the Lord can do it, and the
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  Lord will do his work if you'll simply trust him.
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  Do you know when people get saved? When they stop working for their salvation,
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  when they stop trying to save themselves and they realize they can't save themselves,
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  and they throw themselves on the mercy of God. They, they lay down in
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  the grace of God. They sit still in the mercy of the Lord, and they
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  say, Lord, you'll have to do this. And the Lord says, I will. Do you
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  know when Christians start living in victory? When they stop trying
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  to, through their own effort and energy and endeavors,
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  be something or accomplish something, and instead they learn the wonderful
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  rest of faith. That's what we're talking about
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  here— the confidence that one greater than you is able
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  to take care of all of this. Now I want to show you something interesting.
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  Notice how the chapter starts. And how it
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  ends. It starts in verse number 1 with
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  these words: My daughter, shall I not seek rest
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  for thee? Do you know what everybody in this world wants?
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  Rest. Physical rest, yes, but mental rest,
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  emotional rest, spiritual rest. Don't we need rest
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  in a restless world? So many anxious, troubled people.
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  So many things to keep you worked up all the time.
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  Always tumultuous, tempestuous around us.
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  No wonder Jesus came into a world much like ours and said, come unto
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  me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest.
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  The heart of every human being is to find real rest.
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  Now come to the end of the chapter. I love this. She says to
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  Ruth, sit still, my daughter, until thou know how
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  the matter will fall. For the man will
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  not be in rest until he have finished
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  the thing this day. Can I tell you why you can rest? You can rest
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  because the Lord is at work.
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  Look, Boaz finished the thing. Can I tell you Jesus finished
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  the thing too? On the cross of Calvary, he cried out, it is finished.
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  He already bought and paid for your salvation. He already
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  took care of your sin. It's finished. You can rest
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  in his finished work. Have you learned to rest in the
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  finished work of Jesus Christ? And if you are a Christian,
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  are you remembering that the one who finished your redemptive
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  work is also going to finish every other good thing in your life, being confident
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  of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perform
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  it till the day of Jesus Christ? Listen, he's not just
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  the author of our faith, he is the finisher of our faith,
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  and you can rest in him. To use the,
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  the symbolism of Ruth chapter 3, lay down,
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  sit still. This is not a, an episode to promote laziness,
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  by the way. This is not me saying don't work, don't, don't try,
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  don't put forth human effort. No,
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  it is rather to say rest in the Lord,
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  find your peace in him.
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  You remember Mary in Luke chapter 10? I mentioned her the
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  other day, that beautiful passage. Jesus comes to her house And Martha's running
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  around careful and troubled about many things. And where is, where is Mary?
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  The Bible says, Luke chapter 10, verse number 39, Mary sat
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  at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
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  Martha was careful and troubled about many things. Mary,
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  not careful and troubled, peaceful, restful.
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  Do you know why? Because she was sitting at the feet of Jesus.
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  She was looking at Jesus. She was listening to Jesus.
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  Maybe you need to cut off some of the noise,
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  put away some of the busyness, block out some
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  of the distractions, and get in a quiet place and just kneel at the feet
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  of Jesus before an open copy of his word and let him talk to
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  you and talk to him. Sit there. You know what you'll find?
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  Stillness, peace. In John chapter number 11,
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  Mary's brother dies. Do you remember that? And Martha
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  comes running. Where's Mary? She's sitting. Did you know
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  if you sit at his feet every day, you can sit still on your hardest
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  day? If you'll learn to sit and be still before the Lord and live
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  the life of faith every day of your life, when the hardest days comes— come
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  in your life, you can rest. There will be peace.
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  Where's the whole thing going to end? Revelation chapter 1, verse number 17.
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  John saw the Lord and fell at his feet. Like a dead
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  man. When you come to Revelation chapter 4, I guess where
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  everybody gathers around the throne at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  But don't wait till then to yield. Don't wait till then to find peace.
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  No, yield to him today. Surrender to him
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  today. You know, the martyrs, they're dying sacrifices,
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  but we are called on to be living sacrifices. Do you know what that means?
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  It means to live at the feet of Jesus.
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  You may say, well, I got to humble myself to kneel at his feet.
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  Friend, that's a good place to be. C.T. Studd said, if Jesus
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  Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for
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  me to make for him. Would you find your place today at the feet of
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  Jesus? And there, as you do,
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  I promise you on the authority of scripture, you too will
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  find rest.
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  Thank you for joining us for today's study. If you've enjoyed this
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  Until next time, keep following God's Word and
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  finding Christ's joy.