you you you you I'm glad he did it all for me, aren't you? I'm glad for Jesus. Thank God for the great sacrifice that was given to us so that you and I could have everlasting life. I'd like to preach out of the book of Ruth this morning. With the help of God, I trust this message. If it finds you lost, I trust it'll find you in a place where you're ready to repent and call on the name of the Lord and be saved today. Maybe you're a Christian that's just not been living the way you should. Maybe you've developed a bad attitude even about some decisions that you've made. And may the Lord help you to get back to the place where there's bread in your life and where you can find true satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ruth chapter 1 in verse 19 it says, So they too went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them. And they said, Is this Naomi? 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 has brought me home again. empty. Why then call you me Naomi? Seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me. So Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law with her, which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. With the help of the Lord, I'd like to preach on this subject. I left, but God brought me home. Naomi just acknowledged her guilt before the people. She said, I went out full. Hey, when she and her husband decided to leave the place that God had designed for them to stay, she testified. God was full. Bethlehem was the land of promise. It was that land that God had told them if they'd just obey his commandments, then he would bless them and protect them. Oh, but a famine had struck the land due to the judgment of God upon the land for their sin. Here we have the story of a family seeking to escape the judgment of God by going to a land that was already under condemnation. Oh, how many people have walked away from an upbringing in the house of God trying to seek satisfaction and survival in a world that's condemned already, and already under the judgment of God. Elimelech and his family, they were under the judgment of God because of the sin of idolatry in the land. So instead of just getting right with God, instead of humbling themselves and confessing and repenting of their sins, they said, I know what we'll do. We'll just try to flee the wrath of God. What they didn't know is they were jumping out the frying pan into the fire. The Bible says, for the wages of sin is death. that there's only one way for you to escape the wages of sin, and that's through the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. They said if we could only make it to Moab, if we could only make it somewhere else, we can escape the judgment that's upon us. No matter how far a person tries to run from the wrath of God, they'll never be able to escape God's judgment. I see people right now thinking, I know what I do, I just won't go to church anymore. so I don't have to hear anything about my sin. Oh, I know what I'll do. I just won't read my Bible so I don't be reminded of my sin. Oh, I know what I'll do. I just won't hang around godly people so that I won't have no reminder of my duty to fear God and keep His commandments. When Elimelech and his family, they left Bethlehem and went to Moab, they tried to get as far away as they could from the word of God. Oh, when that old prodigal son left the father's house, he too went to a far country. He tried to cut ties with everything godly and everything holy in his life. But even there, when he had run out of the good times and found himself in Walt, he could not escape the mercy of the Lord. Oh, in Luke 15, 17, it says that when he came to himself, He said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger. Everything he thought would satisfy him had come and gone, but the one thing that remained was the father's house. Oh, the prodigal and a limeleck both ran to a far country seeking for something that far country could not to provide Elimelech and his family. They were under the judgment of God. Oh, the Bible says, for the wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. They could not escape that. How many people have tried to find satisfaction in the pleasures and promises this old unstable world offers and never one minute consider the fact that Jesus said, for what shall it profit a man if she shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? In 1 John 2, And verse 15, it says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You won't know where you're at today, just look at what you love. It'll tell you where you are. For all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Lemon Lake said, hey, we'll be better off in Moab. I'll be better off away from Bethlehem. I'll be better off away from the house of bread. Oh, surely God's judgment won't reach me there. The prodigal said, I'll be better off in the far country. I can live any way I want to. I can live outside the commandments of God. No one there to tell me what's right or wrong. Oh, but can I remind you that no matter where you find yourself, the word of God is true. It says the wages of sin is death. You cannot escape the wages of sin. Oh, the next event in the life of Elimelech was going to reflect his own death. Oh my, what he thought he could escape, it found him right where he was at. His boys are going to marry in Moab, and then they too were going to die, leaving a mom and two wives without hope. One decision led to three deaths. and a bitter disposition. Naomi and her two daughters-in-laws were as good as dead, but thank God for grace. In verse six, it says, then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people and given them bread. Hey, you see, she came to a point where she realized, I cannot escape the wages of sin. Hey, I tell you, she came to a place where she had to realize there was no hope in Moab. There was no bread in Moab. There was nothing there but a bitter death awaiting Naomi, but she heard A word. Hey, I promise you one thing. She never got a word to leave Bethlehem. God never sent her a word saying, it's alright for you to go to Moab. Hey, can I just remind you today that if you leave God's will for your life, I promise you, you'll never get a word from God to do that. You'll never get a word from God to go out and live for yourself and live in Moab. You're doing that on your own. That prodigal son never got a word from God to go to that far country. Matter of fact, he never got his daddy's approval either. But he decided, I'm going anyway. It doesn't say that God sent bread to Moab. It says that Naomi heard that the Lord had visited his people and given them bread. Naomi's got a decision to make. she could stay in Moab and die. Or she could humble herself and go back to Bethlehem and cast herself at the mercy of God. You know, that old prodigal son, when he came to himself and realized that the far country did not care about him, Oh, and that old far country had no life to offer. The Bible says in verse 16 of Luke 15, And he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. You understand he was as good as dead, for the wages of sin is death. But he too had a decision to make. He was already condemned. He was already under the wages of sin. But what he had heard and witnessed at the father's house is that there was plenty of bread for whosoever will. What Naomi heard in the country of Moab, I promise you, it changed her life. She didn't have to see the bread to believe it. She too already knew that God is merciful. that God is full of grace, that God will forgive. And oh, she already knew the promises of God. Oh, that their people would turn from their sin. God would bring the bread again. Oh, she knew what took place. But see, it had to happen for her, too. The Bible says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Oh, in John 6, verse 51, it says, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Can I just tell you there's hope for you today? You don't have to die for the wages of your sin. Jesus died for the wages of your sin, but it's up to you to accept what He did for you, to humble yourself and cry out to Him, and acknowledge your guilt, and acknowledge the fact that He died on an old rugged cross, and He was buried, and He rose again to save your soul, and you too can have everlasting life. The only way for Naomi to not die from the consequences of her sin was to go where the bread was. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Naomi had to go where the bread was. John 6, 37 says, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Oh, I tell you all this is introduction. I promise the message will be short. But let me give you one more point by way of introduction. You better be careful allowing your disposition to negatively influence someone else. You understand Naomi was a bitter woman. Naomi was suffering under the wages of her sin. She was suffering from her condition. Her bitterness did not lead her to convince others to follow her. Matter of fact, she even tried to talk them out of following her. Now look, let me get this. She heard a word that God had visited His people with bread, but she still tried to convince those in her area of influence to just stay in Moab and to die without God. Hey, Naomi knew there was hope for the stranger. Hey, she may not have been able to do anything for them, but hey, she couldn't do anything for herself. Oh, but she should have known, and she did know that God had already made a way for the stranger to be able to find bread in the land of Bethlehem, in that promised land. God had already set out laws. God had already made a provision for the stranger to survive in Israel. But you think about it, even though she knew that, she tried to talk others out of not following her. In chapter one, Naomi doesn't have a testimony of salvation, but all she could do was respond in faith to what she had heard. God had visited his people and given them bread. She's not redeemed at this point. She can't redeem herself. She couldn't redeem Orpah. She couldn't redeem Ruth. But instead of convincing them to go with her, she literally condemned them to die in their sins. She said, I cannot save you. I cannot give you any future, so just go your way. Now, I'm going back where there's bread. I'm going back there, but not good enough for you. You just go back to your own beliefs. What do you think about it? She knew there was forgiveness with the Lord, because there wouldn't be bread back in Bethlehem had there not been forgiveness with the Lord. She knew there was mercy with the Lord. She knew that where there was help and hope for the downtrodden. Matter of fact, she even knew the law of the kinsman redeemer. But she tried to talk Orpah and Ruth from following her. Now Ruth is gonna make the choice to throw herself at the mercy of God. But Orpah said, I'll just stay in my sin. Naomi signed Orpah's death warrant. I wonder how many people are we gonna be found guilty of, that we discouraged from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ because we put ourselves in a place where we developed a bad attitude toward God. What now says, she said, I went out full, but God brought me back empty. You know, Orpah could have made the same choice But she chose to miss out on all that God had for her because she was influenced by someone with a bitter disposition. Y'all ready for the message? Here's a short message. All that's introduction. is going to go out to glean in the fields looking for one thing. She wanted to satisfy the desires of her flesh. She was only looking for grain. Boy, thank God that God had already prepared a place for strangers to find bread. Hey, she knew that as a stranger, God had made a way for them to get some grain to satisfy their hunger. Ruth went to the field looking out for only two people. She was looking out for herself and she was looking out for Naomi. But right here's what she didn't know, was that God had something more than grain in store for Naomi and for Ruth. While Ruth was out there seeking to just satisfy herself, and satisfy her hunger and just have enough to get by. Somebody else had took notice of her. You understand, you may think that you're in your own little world and doing whatever it is, it'll satisfy your desires. But can I just remind you, just as sure as the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hey, just as sure as you think you're all by yourself and you're just living for yourself, Can I just remind you there's a God in heaven that's took notice of you. Somebody else is interested in you. Ruth was just looking for grain, but Boaz had something far better than grain. Ruth went out looking to satisfy her desires day after day, but Boaz had something greater than grain. In verse 10 of Ruth 2, it says, Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the grain and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? Hey, Boaz is going to go on to say, I know everything about you. I know where you come from. I know who you are. I've seen the consequences of sin on your life. I know you're a Moabite. I realize you're under the judgment of God. I realize you're a stranger. I know you and Naomi have no means to redeem your life. But right here's the good news. I do. I do. Do you remember the day that you were just living for yourself and just trying to live to satisfy the desires of your heart, separated from God, a stranger from God, under the condemnation of sin? The Bible says that you were good as dead. You were dead in your trespasses and sin. You too were under the condemnation of God. You too had been separated from God by your sin. While you were just pining away, trying to satisfy your never-ending desires. You realize it's never enough. I need a newer car. I need a newer house. I need newer clothes. Just trying to satisfy a never-ending desire. But hey, thank God. And while you was pining away in your sin, God took note of you. God had something better for your life. Ruth found grace. Not only did she find grace, but she's going to get redeemed. Aren't you glad for the day that you found grace in the eyes of God and you called on the Lord and God saved your old wretched soul and you were redeemed? But you know, her story don't end there. Ruth's heading to a wedding. She's heading to a wedding. If you're saved today, you too are heading to a wedding. But right here is where it gets real serious if you're not saved. You're heading somewhere too, but not to a wedding. You're heading to a place of eternal unsatisfaction, a place where the flame will never go out, where torment will never end, an eternity of separation from God. But right here's the good news. There's grace available for you. God has more for you than you simply trying to satisfy your temporal desires. Ruth could have just stayed in the field and just tried to survive if she tried to satisfy her desires. But she chose to yield to Boaz's desire for her. And you know what happened? She got it all. Orpah decided to stay in Moab, and there she died in her sin. Maybe today you're saved. Maybe today your life resembles Naomi's life. Maybe you've been living outside of the will of God for your life. Maybe you've been running from where God would have you to be and just trying to live for yourself. You better be careful. Because your bad decisions just may result in you forfeiting the life that God has for you. And you may just sign somebody else's death warrant. Right here's the conclusion of the message. You have a decision to make.