reading the word and hearing the word. I just want to say a couple words more about myself so you have a sense of who it is who is speaking to you tonight. So I mentioned that I'm at First Bayern Christian Reformed Church. I'm also a student at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. God willing, in the fall, I will begin the PhD program. So when someone else is paying for it, you just do it. So four to six more years. But my main ministry, the reason why we are back in West Michigan, I served a church for eight years, just under eight years, a French-speaking Reformed church in Quebec, Canada. But we have come back to work with my parents who started a ministry called Mission French Africa Ministries. So in the back, I have permission. I've set out a little table where you can find information about the ministry. Mission French Africa does two things. focuses on two main things, radio broadcast ministry. So my father preaches and then sends radios to French-speaking Africa, about 22 countries on the African continent, and they play these sermons on the radio in the marketplace and people listen to them and then they leave information for how you can get in contact. with the staff that we have in those different countries. And so through the radio ministry, people hear the gospel. If they are saved by the word or if they are Christians and want to know more about the word, they follow a correspondence course that teaches them the basics of the Christian faith. But then over time, my dad especially has noticed that French-speaking Africans have a hunger for God, have a hunger for spiritual things, but there isn't an easy way to train them. So he would do conferences, he would do different types of teaching, three, four days on different topics, but found that it was just insufficient. So about three years ago, we started a training center in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I'm from originally, and Kinshasa is the biggest French-speaking city in the whole world. We have between 14 and 17 million people in Kinshasa, the capital. This is context to help you understand. So in our school we have just under 700 students who attend our school and who are learning the basics of pastoral ministry. So just like we take Hebrew and Greek here, they're taking Hebrew and Greek there. We learn about hermeneutics and all of basic seminary. They're doing the same there in French. So I was supposed to go this year, but the Lord had other plans, didn't get to go. But this ministry is why I'm doing a PhD. to learn more, to understand God better, so that I in turn can teach, right? What's the ministry of the church? Jesus said, go and make disciples of all nations. That's the way that I get to participate in making disciples, by training those who will train others. by teaching pastors so that they can teach and make other pastors and other disciples. And so, you know, we're always looking for more support, okay? But in all seriousness, pray. Just pray. Prayer is powerful. God changes people. God saves people through prayer. So please, if you have time after the service, just go pick up a pamphlet, learn about the ministry. If you have questions, you can send an email or even call. But this ministry is my heart. But even greater than that ministry, my primary passion is the ministry of the Word. So I would like to pray and ask God's blessing upon this word as we prepare to hear it because apart from God, apart from his help, we can do no good thing. So let's pray. Great God of heaven, we bless your name. We thank you because you have the words of life and you've given us this word. But Lord, if you do not pour out your spirit in power, the word is as though lifeless. It's easy to read it, to know things about it, but not to know you, not to be touched by you. But Lord, you've promised us in your word that your word never goes forth from you without accomplishing your will. And so I pray and I ask, Lord, that you would bless this word, that you would bless your people through the preaching of this word. that you would help me to preach this word faithfully, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We pray this, Lord, for the glory of your name, because you deserve it, because you are worth it. Help us, Lord Jesus, we pray, in your name and through your Holy Spirit. Amen. So brothers and sisters in Christ, dear friends, I have the privilege this evening of bringing the word to you from the book of Ruth. Sometimes I laugh when I think about the book of Ruth because it seems to be that the book of Ruth is one of those books that women's Bible study makers always focus on. It's either Ruth or Esther because they're about women. But Ruth is not a book that's just for women. God put it in the Bible for all of us. We need what Ruth has to say to us. And if you're familiar with the book of Ruth, and if you thought about this book, you might understand that the story is not actually about Ruth, is it? The book of Ruth is about who? It's about Naomi. It's about Ruth's mother-in-law. It's the story of how God redeems and saves Naomi through Ruth and through that mysterious kinsman-redeemer by the name of Boaz. But if you're a Christian, you think about this and you know that just like any other book of the Bible, the book of Ruth is not about Naomi really, is it? It's not about the kinsman-redeemer Boaz. It's about God. The whole Bible is about God, and in the book of Ruth we find a microcosm, a miniature of the whole Bible, because in this book we see the main themes of Scripture, the love of God, the redemption that comes from God. In Ruth we're pointed forward toward the Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ. But if you want to really understand Ruth, if you want to understand one of the main themes of Ruth, you have to understand that weird word that's printed in the bulletin. It's the word chesed. I'm going to ask you now to repeat it with me. Don't look at anybody, because you don't want to spit on anybody. But it's a very important word. Say it with me. Chesed. Chesed. Very good. So chesed, like many biblical words, is a word that's very difficult to translate directly in the English language. There are many words in the Bible that we have translated by one word in our Bibles. But when you look at the dictionary, at a biblical dictionary, you see the word and you see that there are four, five, six, seven different entries for one word. But you know, it's not just biblical words that are that way. I've learned. I'm not Dutch, but I'm married to a Dutch woman. I have a Dutch family. I've learned about this fascinating Dutch word, gesellig. You know the word? So listen, when I ask questions, I expect real answers, okay? I hope I won't get in trouble. This is the question. What does gesellig mean? What does it mean? No, no one knows. I thought you were Dutch. I'm in the wrong part of West Michigan. Must I go to Holland? What does gesellig mean? I've heard it means cozy. Is that right? I've heard that gesellig has to do with things that are nice. So I went online because I wanted to understand properly what gesellig means. And this is what I found online. I learned online that gesellig encompasses the heart of Dutch culture. It is untranslatable. Literally, it means cozy, quaint, or nice. but can also connote time spent with loved ones, seeing a friend after a long absence, or general togetherness. So, one word in Dutch, but you cannot translate it with one word in English because it has such a deep meaning. It's the same for our word today, gesed. When I say chesed, you need to understand it means many things. It can mean steadfast love, but it also means loyal love, covenant kindness, compassion, mercy, grace. So I'm going to use the word over and over in the sermon. When you hear me say chesed, think loyal love, covenant kindness, mercy, compassion, Love. Chesed describes not only what God does, but it describes what kind of God we have. A God who is compassionate, who is merciful, who is loving, who is faithful in His kindness to His people because He is a covenant God. Do you remember that promise that He made to Abraham? when he established his covenant, not only with Abraham, but with his descendants after him. He says to Abraham in Genesis 17, verse seven, I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout generations for an everlasting covenant, a binding relationship. And he says, what is the covenant? God promises to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. And when God binds Himself to people, when God promises to be their God, it's not just to be their God, but to do good to them. To be the God of chesed, who is always faithful, always merciful, whose love is loyal, whose kindness stems from His covenant. That's who He is. Not just who He was back in the day, but who He is even now. So if you want to understand the book of Ruth, if you want to understand what God is doing, you need to understand that God is the God of chesed. Everything that he does, everything that he is doing even now, stems from the fact that he is the God of loyal love, of covenant kindness, of mercy, compassion, and grace. So that's the introduction. As we read the text, Watch to see how God displays His chesed. So we read from Ruth chapter 1 and we're going to read the whole chapter. So let's give our attention to the reading of God's perfect word. We read, in the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Eli Melech, which means my God is king. And the name of his wife, Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Malon and Kilion. They were Ephratites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died and she was left with her two sons. These two took Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years and both Malon and Kilion died so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. She set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you. And this is the first time that we see that word, chesed, in the book of Ruth. May the Lord deal kindly, mercifully, with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.' Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, no, we will return with you to your people. But Naomi said, turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore remain from marrying, refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter for me, for your sake, that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.' Then they lifted up their voices, and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, see, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said, do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you." And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said, no more. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred up because of them. And the women said, is this Naomi? She said to them, do not call me Naomi, call me Marah, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me? So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Thus ends the reading of God's perfect, powerful, and precious Word. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we said that one of the main themes of the book of Ruth is the chesed of God. That our God is a God whose love is loyal, whose kindness stems from his covenant. Our God is a God who is faithful and compassionate. So what does Ruth chapter one teach us about our God? Because the whole Bible is about God, really, truly. Well, our text teaches us about at least two things about our God. First, it teaches us that we experience God's chesed, his loyal love, his covenant kindness and compassion and mercy in the midst and not despite our suffering. When is it that we experience God's chesed? In the midst of and not despite Our bitter misery and suffering. But secondly, our text teaches us and shows us that God reveals His chesed. He shows us His mercy, His kindness, His faithfulness, and His love in unexpected ways. In ways that we would never think He would do things. So our first point is that our God, the God of chesed, reveals that chesed, that mercy, that love, that goodness of His, in the midst of our suffering. I don't know if you've heard the saying, but someone has said that you can tell what a person truly believes not on what a person says he or she believes, but based on what a person does, how a person lives. Let me say it again. How do you tell what a person truly believes? You don't tell what a person truly believes by what they say they believe, but rather by how they live. how they react to situations. So do you know the saying, God is good? If I say God is good, what do you respond? All the time. So God is good. All the time. That's what we believe. That's what we say. We believe. But do we really believe it? That's the question. I think, if we're honest with ourselves, it's easy for us to say, God is good all the time. All the time, God is good when things are good. When the economy is on the up and up. When you are working and you're making money and you're saving money. Then it's easy to say, oh, God is good all the time. It's easy for us to say God is good all the time when we have good relationships with our family members, isn't it? When you can go to Christmas parties and Thanksgiving and you can visit people that you love freely, oh then God is good. But what happens when you're in the valley? Is God really good all the time when you're sick? Is God really good all the time When you have broken relationships, is God really, really good all the time? When we live in a nation where people hate you because of what you believe. You see, we say one thing, but do we actually believe it? You see, when things are hard is when we're challenged to actually live out our faith. To actually live out what we say we believe. And in our text we find Naomi. A woman who has gone through the ringer. A woman who has experienced misery. Pain, suffering upon suffering. Look at her life, okay? If you look at Naomi's life, maybe you're reminded of the story of Job. You know the story of Job. Job was a wealthy man. But not only was Job a wealthy man, he was a godly man. And then you know the story, don't you? One day, one of his servants comes to him and says, Job, master, I have bad news for you. The Sabaeans were marauding around and they came and they attacked you and they stole a bunch of your cattle. Job said, well, that's pretty bad, but we'll deal with it. But then another servant comes and says, Master Job, I have terrible news for you. Your children were enjoying time together in one of their homes, and an east wind blew and knocked the walls of the house down, and they all passed away. And in a moment, Job lost everything. Job experienced calamity upon calamity, catastrophe upon catastrophe. And is God still good? Is God still faithful? Is God still kind? Is he still loving? Because look at Naomi's life. Naomi experienced calamity upon calamity. Misery upon misery. Look first at how she experienced misery and bitterness in her life. She and her family, our text says, left the promised land in Judah, in Bethlehem, in order to go to Moab. You know what Bethlehem means. The house of bread. The place where there is food. But there's no food in Bethlehem. And so they leave their home, they leave everything they know in order to go to a pagan country, Moab. You don't want to go there. because there isn't enough food, because there isn't enough work in their home country. We would call them today economic migrants. What's an economic migrant? It's people who leave their town, city, or country seeking an improved standard of living because conditions or job opportunities in their own region are insufficient. It's what many of your parents or grandparents or great-grandparents did. They did not leave the old country because they wanted to. They left because there weren't opportunities. They left because there wasn't enough food to eat. So they decided to leave their own country to go to a foreign land in order to find opportunities because they heard there are jobs over the United States of America. So imagine Naomi. She leaves behind everything and everyone she knows except for her husband and her children to be foreigners in a foreign place. Isn't that suffering? But it doesn't stop there. Our text then says that while they're in this foreign land, calamity strikes again. She loses her husband. Her love of all these years dies. We don't know how, it just says he died. And then we read about 10 years later, what happens? Even worse. Her two sons. who married pagan foreign women die. Why is this so bad? Because if you know the context of life in those days, if you are a woman and a foreigner, you can't do anything. As a woman, Naomi could inherit nothing. She could own nothing. So, so long as she had at least one man in her family, she had a chance. But now she has no husband, she has no male children, she's too old to work, she is in dire straits. She's poor, poor, poor. Because she has no family. She has no one that she can fall back on. She has no one that she can go to and say, can I stay at your house for a couple of weeks or months while I try to get back on my feet. There's no social security. She has nothing. There are no food banks. She has nothing. And so in these situations, if you're like me, you ask the question, but Lord, why? Why, if you are God, if you are sovereign, in control of everything, if you are good God, why do you allow people like Naomi, people like us, to suffer so much? You know the question, right? How could a good and powerful God exist if suffering exists as well in this world? It's not just a question that non-believers ask, it's a question that many of us ask, isn't it? Well, we can't answer that question because it's a deep, deep question, but there are three things that I think we need to hold on to, three truths that we need to keep in our minds and in our hearts when we think about suffering and God. The first one is this, God is good and doesn't change. The Bible teaches us that our God who is living, the living God, is good and unchanging, which means that God cannot be tempted to do evil, God cannot do evil, and nothing can change that. So when we experience suffering ourselves, when we see intense suffering somewhere else, we need to remember, but wait, wait, wait, God is good. Second truth that we need to keep in mind about God and suffering is that the existence of suffering in the world does not prove that God doesn't exist or that God doesn't care. Just because suffering exists doesn't mean that it's God's fault. Because remember, God can't do evil. God is not the origin of evil or suffering in the world. So just because there is evil in the world, just because there is suffering is not proof that God is not powerful enough or that he doesn't care, right? Why? Because guess what God did? God came into the world, right? Jesus is not a figment of our imagination. Even non-believers today acknowledge that there was a man named Jesus. But what they don't acknowledge is that Jesus is God. And Jesus entered into the world. He didn't just watch us suffer. He suffered with us. He suffered for us, showing us, proving to us that God does care. And that God has acted to do something about our suffering. But third, we need to remember that there may be many, many, many reasons for why we experience suffering in this world, right? Sometimes, can we be honest? We suffer because of our own sins. Can we just be honest with ourselves? If you're a smoker, you know, this isn't against you per se. But listen, if you smoke cigarettes on the packet, it gives you a warning, doesn't it? See, this is the thing. Don't listen, kids. Plug your ears. Smoking looks really cool, doesn't it? James Dean, Marlon Brando, they make it look cool, right? But on that package, you get this warning. This has the possibility of killing you. Doesn't it say that? So what happens if you smoke and then you have cancer? Oh God, what are you doing? No, it's your fault. Because you have the warning written very clearly on the label. Sometimes, We experience suffering because of our own sin. But sometimes we experience suffering because of other people's sinful decisions. Isn't it true? You know, we live in a society where we're taught to believe that each person should have individual consequences for their actions, but it's not true. We're Reformed people, we're covenantal, we're federal. Why do we baptize, where's the font? Why do we baptize our children? Because they made profession of faith? Why are our children blessed to be covenantal members of the body of Christ? It's because they deserved it. No, because they belong to us, we belong to one another. What is my point? My point is that sometimes we benefit because of the decisions of other people. And sometimes we suffer because of the bad decisions of people who are over us, our family, our parents, our leaders, you know, in the state, in the federal government. Right? Sometimes we suffer just because other people made bad decisions. And sometimes we suffer just because we live in a broken world. You can do all the right things, take care of your health, pay your bills, pay your taxes, and still just be struck. So when we come to Naomi and we ask that question, but why? Why Naomi? Why did she suffer the way that she did? My personal reading of the text is that it was not her fault. She was a faithful woman who followed her husband, yes, who left the promised land, but who stayed faithful to her covenant vows of marriage, followed her husband, and in God's providence, he took away her husband and took away her sons. But now, things will happen to us. The question now is how do we react? When you are hit, When you are blindsided, how do you react? Look at Naomi's reaction in verse 13. She says to her daughters-in-law, the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. What's she saying? God did it. And then in verse 20, when they come back to Bethlehem, her friends say to her, Naomi's back. And what does Naomi answer in verse 20? Do not call me Naomi. Do not call me sweet. Call me Marah, which means bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me? What are you going through today? What have you experienced? What suffering and bitterness do you know personally? What's your reaction? Where is God? What is God doing? Do you react like Naomi? I think if we're honest, many of us do, don't we? When we're hit with calamity upon calamity, we lose sight, we lose focus on where God is and on what God is doing and we forget that our God is the God of chesed. Changing circumstances do not change the fact, the reality of who God is. He's the God of loyal love. of covenant kindness, who remains compassionate and merciful, who is always with us. Isn't it Psalm 23, verse 4? Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. It's easy to come to church, you got your nice clothes on, you smile, but maybe you're dying inside. Remember, remember, whatever you're going through, if you are God's child, God is and will always be the God of chesed. He does not abandon his people. His love and his mercy, his compassion, his kindness and faithfulness do not ever change. But now let's move to point number two. God is with us in the midst of our suffering. His chesed remains in our suffering. But the way in which God reveals His kindness, His goodness, His love and His mercy is unexpected. How does God show to Naomi that He is with her? How does God show His kindness and love and mercy to Naomi? He does it in an unexpected way. through a foreigner, through her daughter-in-law, who was a former pagan. Look at verses 16 and 17. Our wedding text, by the way. Listen to how Ruth speaks to Naomi. She says, do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die. And there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. Brothers and sisters, are these not words of chesed? Faithfulness, kindness, goodness, mercy, and love. And you know they're extraordinary words because you know that Ruth didn't have to do it, right? She was under no obligation to be kind, to be loving, to remain faithful to her mother-in-law. Remember, because what is it? Marriage is until Death do us part. Her husband had died. But look at this woman. She does not leave her mother-in-law. She does not abandon this suffering woman, which is not, you know, not something we always do as Christians. When we see someone suffering, we sometimes do this. We just back away. You know, when it looks like, ah, God might be punishing that person, we move far, far away. But not Ruth, because guess what? One thing about God's hesed is that it's not just something that He shows to people. God's people can also show it to one another. But you see, Ruth's hesed is a picture of God's grace, and it's a picture that's supposed to point us toward our Redeemer. toward the one who shows us God's grace and his mercy in the most abundant and full way. Because who is Jesus? Isn't Jesus a foreigner? You'll say, yeah, but he was born in Bethlehem. Yeah, he was born, he was raised in Nazareth. But I ask you the question, where does Jesus come from? What's his country? Is he from earth? What did he tell the Pharisees? You're looking for someone from earth, but I come from above. John 1 verses 1 through 3 tells us about Jesus, doesn't it? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Jesus is the man. who comes down from heaven. He's actually God who becomes a human being. Why? He comes into our world, steps into the world that he made, but comes as a stranger into his own world. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. He came to his own, but his own rejected him. But why did Jesus come? He came to show us that God is love. He came to show us grace upon grace. The law came through Moses. Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ. Jesus came into the world to show us that God actually cares. That God actually knows what you're experiencing. that when you feel that people don't know you, that people hate you, but God actually knows this because of Jesus Christ, who is God and man. Jesus also came into the world to deliver us from the power of Satan and of death and of sin. You see, it's extraordinary, isn't it? John 3.16, God loved the world in such a way that He gave His only begotten Son. Why? So that whoever believes, trusts in Jesus, will not perish, but will have eternal life. Why must we perish? Because we deserve all the bad things that we get. Did you know that? All of us naturally are born rebels. Forgive me, but I have to ask the question. Anyone here watch the Star Wars movies? Yeah, don't be ashamed. This is God's house. Tell the truth. So what is a sinner? I'll get to Star Wars. What's a sinner? A sinner is a rebel against God. Now, what do you do with rebels? The empire strikes back, right? Is that one of the Star Wars movies? What do you do with rebels? You destroy rebels. Now, the analogy doesn't work perfectly because God is not a Darth Vader. He's a good father, isn't he? But what God should do is destroy all of us. That's what he should do. That's what we deserve. But you see, the God of justice is also the God of mercy. The God of righteousness is also the God of love and forgiveness and compassion and kindness. The two stay together. And so the God of justice, the God of righteousness is also the God of love and mercy who says, but I want to also save these people who don't deserve it. So that's why he sent his son, so that Jesus would live the perfect life we ought to live but could never because we're sinful, we're crooked, we could never do it. But then he also died on the cross in order to pay with his life, his perfect life, the debt that we owe God. Because all of us owe God everything. He made us, we belong to him, he owns us. But what does he do? He sends his son in our place. He made him who knew no sin to become sin so that we, by trusting in him, might become the righteousness of God. And so if there's anyone here, you've been in church, you know things about Jesus, but you don't know Jesus as your Redeemer, as your Savior. Trust in Him. Repent. Repentance means you turn. You turn from living for yourself, from believing you're good enough, and by grace through faith, you turn to Jesus Christ, and you believe what He says about you, that you are a sinner, that you ought to be condemned, but that God is good, He's the God of love and mercy and grace. who forgives sinners who trust and believe in Jesus Christ. And when you trust and believe in Jesus Christ, guess what happens? You are saved forever and always, and then you get this beautiful, this beautiful promise that we read about in Romans 8. Then you have this assurance. Romans 8, 31 says, if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's the promise for all who believe and trust in Jesus. I'm almost done. One more application. God does not abandon us because he's the God of chesed. The God who is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. If that's what God has done for us, we his people ought to do the same for one another, shouldn't we? If God does not abandon us, then how can we abandon one another in the church of Jesus Christ? Listen to me. I know that we live in a nation where people just hate us because of what we believe. I know this. But listen, I've been in the church my whole life. I watch Christians too. And you know how we are. Aren't we the worst of the worst? Yeah. I'm being very serious. Are we not the worst of the worst? You hear about someone doing one bad thing and all of us, we act like we don't know that person. And yet we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we not? Look at Ruth. She did not abandon her mother-in-law. She wasn't required by law to stay with her. But she did it because of genuine love, the love of God, genuine compassion. Brothers and sisters in Christ, where is it? Do we want to see our nation changed? I believe in good policies. I believe in politics 100%. I do. But how does the kingdom of God come into the world? It's not through policies. It's through the church, being the church, doing what the church does. Yes, we're supposed to preach the gospel. Yes, we're supposed to make disciples. But what kind of disciples? Disciples who look like Jesus, who live like Jesus, who act like Jesus, who don't abandon one another when the going gets tough. Do we want to see our nation change? Let Christians be Christians. Be salt and light. Love one another, and you know what love is, right? Love is sacrificial. We have to do hard things, don't we? Look at the example of Ruth. She stuck to her mother-in-law. She stuck by her side when things were really, really tough, and God used this foreign woman who was formerly a pagan to give new life to her mother-in-law. Maybe there are some of us this evening, myself including, that need to repent from hating our brothers and sisters in Christ. Aren't we called to love one another? John says, 1 John says, and I realize now my mother was repeating this verse to me over and over growing up. She would always say, but how can you say you love God but you hate your brother? And I thought it was just mom being overly spiritual. But mom was teaching me the scriptures because 1 John, I think one, says it. How can you say you love God but you hate your brother? And who is your brother? brothers and sisters, in Christ. Our God is the God of chesed, of loyal love, of covenant kindness, and mercy, and compassion, and grace. If we are saved by grace through faith, then we ought to also be people of chesed, covenant kindness, loyal love, compassion, mercy, and grace. That's how you win your neighbors. That's how you see your family life change, by trusting in God, by living through the power of the Holy Spirit, by trusting in His Word and obeying His Word faithfully, calmly, lovingly, through chesed, for God's glory and for the good of our brothers and sisters in Christ. and our neighbors. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bless you and we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, for showing us mercy and grace, for being kind and faithful to us, though we do not deserve it. Lord, we ask that you would forgive us for the bitterness of our hearts. We pray that you would show us your love again and that you would teach us to be like our great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, our spiritual great grandmother Ruth, that we would give of ourselves to serve you by serving those that you've placed alongside of us in our churches, in our homes, in our neighborhoods and elsewhere. God, we just wanna give you all the praise and the glory and the honor because you've done a great thing for us. You've saved us from our sins. You've made us your own. And Lord, we know that you have other sheep which are not of this pasture, but that you are seeking even now. And so we pray and we know that your will will be done. And so we ask that it will be done and that we would be even able to see the fruit of your power in our lives. It's in Jesus' name that we pray through your Holy Spirit, amen.