And so, Ruth chapter 2, if you will enable us to stand together in honor and reverence of the Word of God. And I feel like the Lord has orchestrated this service because He knew who would be here. I know that He knew who would be here. And He knew what we were going to sing. We don't plan out what we're going to sing very rarely, do we? No, until we get up here. most of the time, but the Lord has just put everything together for where I want to preach at this one. Ruth chapter 2 verse number 17, please. The Bible says, So she, speaking of Ruth, gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had, gleaned, and it was about an ephah barley, that's about seven gallons there if you study it out, and she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day, and where wroughtest thou? Blessed be he of the Lord that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz. I'm interested in verse number 20. And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin to us, one of our next kinsmen. Let's pray a moment. Father, in Jesus' name, thank You for touching my heart this morning. God, You know what I need. Lord, long before I even know that I need it. Lord, You know when I need it. You know where I need it. You know how I need it. And I thank You for that. I bless Your name for Your kindness, Lord. Thank you for your goodness. Now, Father, I pray for the next few moments where you help me to preach what you put on my heart. Help me to be responsible with the responsibility you've given me of this congregation. But help me not to take it lightly. I never want to do that. But God, I just want to preach what thus saith the Lord. Be honored and glorified in this service today. In Jesus' name and all the Lord's. People sit. Thank you for standing. You may be seated. I have count on my computer with my notes, but I think this is either the 8th or 9th message, I think it's 9, that we've preached out of the book of Ruth. And I'm not necessarily going verse by verse, I'm just kind of going thought by thought as the Lord brings it to us and opens our eyes to us. And honestly, if I skip a Sunday, that don't mean I'm done with it, but I haven't been able to skip a Sunday yet. It's been so rich, the Lord's put it in my heart. I appreciate His Word. Don't mind me. I'm alright. I'm just enjoying myself. And so, we've been looking at all these things, and when we read the verses this morning in our text, Ruth has just returned from gleaning in the field. She has just spent her first full day in the field of Boaz. She has enjoyed the blessings of it, and she comes home to Naomi, her mother-in-law. And I won't take time with all the introduction. I'll say more about it in the message, but she comes home to her mother-in-law, and her mother-in-law sees that she has brought home seven Gallons of barley. An ephah of barley. Seven gallons. And that is a lot of grain. In fact, gleaners, which what Ruth was, they were maybe lucky to get half a gallon to a gallon in a day's work. But here comes Ruth walking home with seven gallons. Seven. God likes that number. Seven. Amen. Comes walking home with completed blessings. And Naomi looks at her. And I'm thinking about preaching a message on this. I'll go ahead and give you my title. But she looks at her and says, Somebody's been helping you. And I wonder when people look at us and they see how good God's been to us, they look at us and say, somebody's been helping you. Because the only reason you're here today is because somebody's been helping you. Maybe we'll get to preach on that later, but that's not where I'm at this morning. It's interesting, the last time we see Naomi speak is in Ruth chapter 1. In Ruth chapter 1, she makes this statement in verse number 21. She said, verse 20, excuse me, and she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Marah. For the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? And Ruth 1 verses 20 through 21, we see a very bitter lady. She's ate up with bitterness. She said, The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. And we'll preach a message about that if the Lord will give us liberty. The Lord has given us a message on those phrases. But I'm interested in the next time she speaks, she does not say the word bitter. But rather there's another word that starts with B on her list. And it's not bitter, but it's blessing. So God took her from being bitter, and having that bitter taste in her life, to now she's saying, well bless the Lord. Now think about Naomi here. She's been gone from Bethlehem, Judah for about ten years. She knows about the God of Israel. She knows about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She knows that God in fact, in Himself, in His essence, He is a good God. But she's been gone for ten years now. And she and her, and I put myself in her position, in her finite human mind, she's wondering, has He changed? Does He still feel the same about me? Does He still love me? Is God still who He said He was? But when she walks back into Bethlehem, and she sees what Ruth come home with, she doesn't say, well, the Lord's been bad to me, I have bitterness in my heart. But when she sees the goodness of God, she looks at Ruth, and she says, Blessed be He of the Lord! In other words, I'm preaching on this salt this morning. It's been a while, but God's still good. And can I say this, it doesn't matter where you've been at in your life, and it doesn't matter what you've done, what you've faced, how many roads you've traveled, how many miles you've traveled, how many storms, how many difficulties, how many troubles you've been through, it may have been a while, it's been a long journey, but God has still been good. She said, blessed be He of the Lord, this little phrase, who hath not left off His kindness. She said, I've been gone a while, but I've come back to find that God is still God, and God is still being good, and God is still blessing and helping and meeting needs. After all this time, time has not changed the changeless One. He said, I am the Lord, and I change not. May I remind you this morning that the goodness of God is His essence, it's His person, it's His being, that's who He is. And so God's goodness does not ever change. I don't care where you've been or what you've done or what you've gone through. He's still God. And I rejoice in the fact that He's still God. But I also rejoice in the fact that He's still good. He's still good. Now, there are three individuals mentioned here in verses 19 and 20 that Naomi saw that God was good to. And it's amazing, Brother Mike, Brother Kenny, as I studied this, there are three different stages in life in these verses. And I want you to see to them how God is good to everybody. Number one, Naomi saw that God was still good to the sinner that was foreign to Him. That's Ruth. May I remind you who Ruth is? Stay with me, we're going somewhere. She's a Moabite. She's out of God's washpot. She is a wicked, vile sinner, possibly a prostitute and a harlot if you study out some of the wording that describes her. She's a very wicked lady. And now she has come home with Naomi there in Ruth chapter number 1. And she goes out to the field to glean. And when she came back, Naomi saw, well, God was good to the Moabite. Are you hearing me? God was good to the lost one. God was good to the wicked one. In other words, everybody out here that's lost and even people that are in here today that are lost that don't know Jesus, whether you realize it or not, God's been good to you. The drunk this morning that's hugging a toilet, throwing his guts up from last night, you know what he can testify? He can testify that God's good to him because he didn't kill himself driving home last night. Somehow, I remember Mel used to testify, he said, before I got saved, I'd get drunk and I'd drive home. And he said, I couldn't see the road. He said, somebody was holding the steering wheel and it wasn't me. You know, it was as a providential hand of God said, I ain't gonna let this one die and go to hell. And some of you remember where you were before God saved you. How you were lost and how you should have woke up dead and in hell. But you can't explain it. How you don't understand it. But it was the mercy of God. And it was the goodness of God. And Romans 2 verse 4 said it is the goodness of God that leadeth a man to repentance. He was good to the sinner that was foreign to Him in Providence. Remember, she's a Moabite. That's the first sub-point, boys. You should be writing that down. In Providence. Think about this. She's a Moabite. She's born there. She's not going to get to enjoy the blessings of God's people. But somehow, someway... Now, can I say this? God was not behind Elimelech and Naomi going to Moab. But I'll tell you what God will do. God can take a crooked stick and draw a straight line. And that straight line always leads to Calvary. They went down there and they failed God and they married Moabites and Ruth was one of them. But somehow through a series of events, here comes a Moabite walking out of the land of Moab. Nobody's dragging her out of Moab. Nobody's pulling her out of Moab. But something in her heart says, it ain't worth living here anymore. This life ain't doing it for me. And she said, I'm going to go where you goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. And here comes Ruth walking out of the land of Moab into a land full of milk and honey, where the blessings of God abound. And aren't you glad for the day when God, through his providence, protected you and God led you? When you were not thinking, anybody listen to me, when you were not thinking about God, when you did not care about God, when you didn't have a conscience of God in your mind. Oh, He was thinking about you, and He loved you, and the divine hand of the providence of God began to stir around and work in your life this morning. In providence, watch this now, in provision, not only did God provide a way for her to get out, but God provided for a way for her to get through. Watch it now, she's got out, but now what's she gonna eat? She can't go get a job. Who's gonna hire a Moabite? But God is always a step ahead. And God had that law where you couldn't cut the corners, you had to keep the corners of your field for the poor, and for the widow, and for the stranger. And so in other words, long before Ruth ever got out of Moab, provision had been made not only to get her out, get her through. And aren't you glad God did not just get you out, but God got you through. And God got you through some dark nights, and some lonely days, and some hard times, and some difficulties. The same God that'll get you out is the same God that'll get you through. He got him out of Egypt, didn't he? He got him to the banks of the Red Sea, and they said, Well, we're out of Egypt, but God said, I ain't going to stop right there. He parted the Red Sea. I'm the same God that got them out. I was the same God that got them through. Amen. If He's big enough to get you out, He's big enough to get you through. In providence, in provision, watch this now, in pardon, He's big enough to get her out. He's big enough to get her through. He's big enough to get her in. Now that out through and in, I didn't write that down, but I like it. Get her out of Moab! Get her through the field! Because through the field is where she met Him. Boaz. And can I say this? There's that law of kinsmen-redeemer. He had to be willing. He had to have the means. And he had to be in the right family. And Boaz qualified in all three areas. And I knew that our heavenly kinsmen-redeemer this morning, he's in the right family. He was made of flesh. He was born of a woman, made under the laws, what Paul said in Galatians. He walked on earth as a man, died on the cross, rose again on the third day. He identifies. We have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings of our iniquities. But as all points are tempted like we, yet without seeing. So he's big enough to get me through. He had the family. He had the means. Yeah, you got that? Then he had to be willing. My Bible said Jesus is not willing that any should perish. But that all... In Ruth 4, there's a near kinsman. But he was not willing to redeem Ruth and Orpha. He wasn't willing to redeem that. He had the means, but he wasn't willing. There's a man sitting over there in the corner saying, I'm in the right family. I got the money. But more importantly, I got the will. Amen. And when Naomi looks at Ruth, She says, well, God's been good to that Moabite. And Moabites, oh, Naomi, she knows about the Moabites. She knows all about them. They're under the judgment of God. They're a wicked people. I remind you this morning, you know what will help you with your bitterness in your life? It's when you say that God was good to you when you wasn't good to Him. When you're cursing God and mocking God and didn't even think about it, didn't think about His Word, didn't think about His name, didn't think about His house, He was still giving you breath. He was still putting air in your lungs. He was still pumping blood through your body. He was still directing your steps so He might lead you to Calvary. So to the sinner that's foreign to Him, she said, well, God's still good. Number two, there's another individual in our text. to the man with whom I wrought today is Boaz. Not only to the sinner that is foreign to him, as Ruth is God good, but God is good to the saint that is fateful to him. That's Boaz. May I remind you that Boaz was, if we're not careful sometimes, we'll begin to think that Boaz wasn't in that famine. Boaz was. Boaz, in our study, is a wonderful picture on top of the Lord Jesus Christ as we have seen over and over again. But at this point in our study, Boaz is a picture of the child of God who remained faithful. Boaz was not a perfect man, but he was a faithful man. He was faithful, first of all, because he lived through the famine. Watch this now. Not everybody ran off when hard times hit down at Bethlehem, Judah. But when hard times hit, There stood a man who said, you know what? God was good to me on the good days, and I believe God will get me through the famine days. Sounds like this, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. So that's what Job said in Job chapter number one. And may I remind you about this, even after you're saved, there's gonna be some hard times. There's gonna be some difficult times. May I remind you the moment you got saved, there may have been people that lined up to shake your hand at church that day and welcome you to the family of God, but you got friends and family and neighbors, they're not happy you got religion. Oh, they wanted you to straighten up and quit shaming the family name, but they didn't want you to go this far with it. Now you're reading the Bible, and now you're praying, and now you're going to church, and now you're trying to do right and live right. They didn't mind when you was living that life of sin. They didn't mind all that, but you've done gone too. They wanted you to go to church, but Safe Harbor wasn't the one they was thinking about. I mean, they wanted you to straighten up and clean up, but they didn't want you to get this cleaned up and this straightened up. Sometimes the dearest people that hurt you the most are the people that are closest to you. They'll stab you in the back and you're wondering, well is it even worth living for God? Is it even worth trying to go through this? May I remind you? Boaz, he is saved if you would. He is in the family of God. And all of a sudden this famine, this turmoil begins to come in his life and his own family turns away and leaves. Elimelech, Naomi, their family, they leave. Boaz says, I don't mean this disrespectful, but I didn't get in it for them. I got in it for Him. You know what's kept these preachers preaching all these years? They're not in it for them. They're in it for Him. I love y'all, but I'm not in it for you. You didn't call me. You didn't save me. You didn't change me. He did. You know what'll help you in your Christian life? Not to quit on God. Realize you're not in it for them. You're in it for Him. He lived through the famine. Just because it gets a little sparse down at God's house, and just because it gets a little sparse down at your house, don't quit on God. He lived through the famine. Not only did He live through the famine, number two, He labored in the field. In a famine, He still labored in the field. Can I say this? God will bless those people. Somebody say, well, God helps those who help themselves. Well, that's not in the Bible. Sorry. Lazarus could not help himself, and God helped him. I mean, it sounds real good. The Bible says cleanliness is next to godliness. No, it don't say that. That's good. That's good, but it's not in the Bible. Amen. A preacher friend of mine was preaching along those lines one time, talking about things we say that's, you know, not in the Bible, but we quote it. And he said, you know, I've always heard all my life that the Lord's coming back from the eastern sky. He said, but that's not in the Bible. He said, in fact, the Bible said the Lord dwells in the north parts. Well, I got a preacher friend of mine that was sitting there, and he's a little crazy. Great preacher, a little crazy. And about the time, it was Davy Shelton that was preaching. He said, the Bible said the Lord dwells in the north parts. And my preacher friend said, that's where Sandy Claus lives. Brother Shelton hardly got the service back to finish preaching. Somebody said, God helps those who help. That's not in the Bible. I'll tell you who God helps. God helps the helpless. Because if you can help yourself, why do you need God? Why do you need God if you can help yourself? That's like people that try to work their way to heaven. Why do you have to work your way to heaven? Why do you have to get down on the cross and work your way to heaven? What's the point? If I tell you what Boaz did, Boaz said, I'm going to do my part. He could have sat at home and gone out and complained how bad it was. He said, you know what, I'm going to go labor in that field. And God blessed him. Somebody said, how do you know God blessed Boaz? He had to hire help to clean his field, to reap his field. He had to have hired servants for the Sanford just to get all the blessings in. that God had given him out of the famine. Can I say this? As I look across the building this morning, I see people that are in a big famine. But now God's blessed them so much that they've got to have people help them. Here's what David said, Oh, magnify the Lord with me. He said, God's been so good to me that I really need some help magnifying the Lord. And let us exalt His name together. God saved you, and helped you, and met your needs, and fed your family, and put gas in your car, and food on your table, and clothes on your back, and paid your bills, and gave you a little money to even go buy a candy bar on. God's blessed you. Oh, magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt His name together. He labored in the field. He lived through the famine. He labored in the field. But I'll tell you how else Boaz was faithful. In that field, he was looking for the fallen. He was looking for those that were just like His mama, Rahab the harlot. He's in that field. Somebody said, how do you know He's looking for the fallen? Because one day He comes in and said, whose damsel is this? He knew she wasn't from around there. And can I say this? If God's been good to you, we have a responsibility to look for the fallen. Telling other folks about the Lord. Telling them what the Lord has done for us. God is good to the sinner that is foreign to Him. That's Ruth. God was good to the saint that was fateful to Him. That was Boaz. But there's one more person in our text and I'm done that God was good to. God was good to the saved that had forsaken Him. And that's Naomi. She said, The Lord hath not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead. She said, He's still good to me. I went to Moab. I quit on God. I left. But He just brought me seven gallons of glory blessings. Watch this now. How is He good to her? There's a spared woman. I noticed this this week. Everybody died in her family except for her. Her husband died. Her two children died. But she didn't. So I'm pretty sure God didn't kill her because He didn't hold her responsible. What are you going to do about Achan then? Achan's children died with him. Achan's wife. Achan's cattle died with him. So why did Naomi get to live and Malon and Chilion die? I've got one answer. I have no idea. Except the grace of God. I don't know why she made it back. Because everybody that goes out there in the world, everybody that quits on God, they don't make it back. But there's a few that do. And I don't know why they make it back other than the mercy of God, other than the grace of God. And they all be standing there saying, I don't deserve it. But I made it back. I made it back. And He don't treat me second class. And He hasn't forsaken me. Even though I forsook Him, I made it back. I'm spared. Oh, do you remember those times when you were saved? God lived in you. The Holy Ghost of God lived in you. He should have killed you. They should have found you in a gutter somewhere dead. But for some reason, you were spared. For some reason, it didn't go down like it should have went down. Anybody listen to me? For some reason, it didn't happen like it was supposed to happen. Because somewhere where you couldn't see it, God was behind the scenes orchestrating things and working things out. A spared woman. A sent word. The Lord hath visited His people in giving them bread. Out of all the people in Moab that could have got that message, it come to her. You'll get a hold of that after a while. Now if you've always been perfect, this means nothing to you. But if you've messed up and failed God, Whether you got out of church for a while or whether you got out of church while you were in church. And the Lord sent a word to you. I'm still visiting my people. Nobody's got your seat yet. There's still a place at the table. You know how I know that prodigal's father was looking for that prodigal son? I believe every night he set his place at the table. Set his plate there. Fork, knife, spoon, and a glass. Because this could be the day he was coming home. And can I say this? If you've got a way from God, He has a table spread where the saints of God are fed. And that's His chosen people come and dine. A spared woman. I sent word. How'd God get word back to you? How'd God get word back to you that you can come home? There's always a place at the table. Anybody getting a hold of that? Spared woman. I sent word. Sincere welcome. They didn't look at her and say, Oh, that's Naomi. We know all about her. Yeah, they quit on God. They quit and went back and forsook us, forsook God. Naomi, she don't come in with her head held proud saying, I'm back, y'all. She comes in and says, don't even call me Naomi anymore, just call me Mara. You know what I see them do? I see them walk up and say, Naomi, it's so good to have you back. We've missed you. Welcome home. Your old place is still available. In fact, we kept it open because we thought you might come home. There's a field out there where you can get something to eat. There's a place for you to get back in. And aren't you glad that God did not leave you on the outside looking in? But He brought you back. Oh, it's a process. It's a process. It takes a little time. You don't get right back where you was when you left. But the Bible does say, draw not of God. Get over here, get over here. It does say, draw not of God, He'll draw not of you. And no, it won't happen instantaneously. But you say, God, I'm sorry. I failed you. I'm coming back, though. I don't deserve your grace. She's got her head down, remember? Don't even call me Naomi. Call me Mar. By the time she got back to Bethlehem, she was face to face with God's amazing grace. And when the story's over, she's sitting in the house holding a little baby named Obed. And Obed's name means worship. I gave it to her that night, but worship was now closer to her heart. than it ever was before. Can I say this? God's good to the sinner that's foreign to Him. God's good to the saints that are faithful to Him. But God's good to those who are saved that even forsook Him. But He brought you back. As I look back on all of my days, So many times, in so many ways, I have been blessed and all I can say is God has been good. Sometimes the night brought suffering and pain. Sometimes the tears fell like the rain. but through it all, He never changed. God is still good. And God is still good when the waves roll high. God is still good all through the night when I've done all I can and I don't understand. God is still good. Well, clouds of doubt may darken my way, but showers of blessings will come any day. He'll bring me through and I'll stand and say God is still good. Naomi could sing this verse. Now there have been times when I've let Him down. I've made my mistakes, but it's then I have found I may stumble and fall. He's still good. His mercy still flows from the palm of His hand. And He will give grace. He's going to help me to stand. And even though He knows everything that I am, God is still good. There have been times when I've let Him down. I've made my mistakes, but it's then I have found I may stumble and fall, but through it all God is still good. His mercy still flows from the palm of His hand. He's going to give grace. He's going to help me to stand. And even though He knows how unworthy I am, God is still good. Haven't always been faithful, Naomi would say, but He has. May I just remind you this morning, He's still good. There's always a place at the table. There's always help for the hurting. There's always peace for the trouble. And that's found in Jesus. It's been a while. But God's still good. We ought to call recess and shout a while. Because we all should have been in hell a long time ago! But we're not! And I'll tell you why! God has been good! It's not because of anything I've said or done. It's not because of anything I have accomplished in and of myself. It's just God's goodness. I'm trying to quit, but I'm not trying too hard. Moses gets up there on that cleft of that rock and says, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. He said, God, I want to see your glory. And Moses said, God told Moses, you can't see my face and live. He said, but there is a place by me. He said, and I'll put you in the cleft of the rock. Notice what he said, and I'll make all my goodness to pass before thee. Moses asked for the glory. but got the goodness. You see, we want that glory when God says, my goodness is enough for you. He's enough. He's enough. And may God just set us today in the cleft of the rock. I believe He is and He's a passing by. And here's what God told Moses, I'm going to put my hand over that cleft and I'm going to pass by and you can see my back parts. You know what? Now some of y'all are wondering if I'm charismatic. I'm not. I'm just saved and glad about it. And I've never seen Jesus physically, Brother Sanford, but there's been a few times in services, and there's been a few times in prayers where I've opened up my eyes, and I thought I could see His coat tailor walking down the aisle. And I thought it was the glory I needed, but it was the goodness of God that I needed. And I'm telling you this morning, it doesn't matter what you be, it doesn't matter what class you fall in, you might be here this morning, you're lost, you don't know God. Can I tell you, God's been good to you. You might be here and you're saved. You're trying to live for God. You can really testify that God's been good to you. And you might be like Naomi that forsook God and failed God and left God. But now the Lord has brought you home again. And you're back at the table enjoying the bliss of God. I don't have to tell you that God's been good to you. God is still Let's stand together. I'm through preaching. Heads bowed, eyes closed. She's going to come play a verse of invitation. Come if you need to come.