about what Christ means to me. I've jotted down some things here that I'd like to read to you. They're not all original with me. Some of them I've picked up here, some of them in another place, and some of them I've added to. Some of them you may be able to add to yourself, but describing what Christ is. To the artist, he is the one altogether lovely. To the architect, he is the chief cornerstone. To the astronomer, he is the bright and morning star. To the baker, he is the living bread. To the banker, he is the unsearchable riches. To the biologist, he is the life. To the botanist, he is the lily of the valley. To the bride, he is the bridegroom. To the builder, he is the sure foundation. To the carpenter, he is the door. To the doctor, he is the great physician. To the engineer, he is the new and living way. To the farmer, he is both sower, the seed, and the lord of the harvest. To the florist, he is the rose of Sharon. To the geologist, he is the rock of ages. To the horticulturist, he is the true vine. To the jurist, he is the righteous judge. To the juror, he is the faithful and true witness. To the king, he is king of kings. To the lover, he is the beloved. To the lawgiver, he is the advocate. To the metaphysician, he is the alpha and the omega. To the merchant, he is the pearl of great price. To the news gatherer, he is the glad tidings of great joy. To the philanthropist, he is the unspeakable gift. To the philosopher, he is the wisdom of God. To the preacher, he is the word of God. To the sailor, he is the anchor of the soul. To the sculptor, he is the living stone. To the servant, he is the good master. To the herdsman, he is the sheep tender and the good shepherd. To the slave, he is the redeemer. To the soldier, he is the captain of our salvation. To the statesman, he is the desire of all nations. To the student, he is the truth. To the theologian, he is the author and finisher of our faith. To the prisoner, he is the deliverer. To the sinner, he is the savior. To the unclean, he is the cleanser. To the guilty, he is the justifier. To the unrighteous, he is thy righteousness. To the weak, he is thy strength. To the homeless, he is thy shelter. To the lawbreaker, he is thy high priest. To the hopeless, he is thy hope of glory. To the harassed, he is thy mediator. To the blind, he is thy light. To the uneasy, he is thy peace. To the bewildered, he is thy hiding place. To the thirsty, he is thy living water. Now you may be able to add others in your reading of the scripture to these thoughts. Christ then is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, according to Colossians 2.9, and in him we are complete. Solomon said, in the Songs of Solomon, after he had finished describing all that the groom was to the bride, she said, and he is altogether lovely. The English language is unable, or any language as far as that is concerned, is unable to describe fully what the Lord Jesus Christ is to the believer. He is all in all. The desire of every born-again believer should be to want to serve this Lord to the best of his ability. If I had my way, I would never sin another day, another time in my lifetime. And I believe that's the desire of every believer, that you'd rather not sin if you could do it. If you could live without sinning, you'd rather not sin against the Lord who loved you and who gave himself for you. We're going to use as a basis of our message tonight the story of Ruth as found in the book of Ruth. If you haven't read that book lately, it'll do you good to go back and read that story, the whole book of Ruth. It's just a short book, can be read in a little while. We're not going to take time to read the whole book. We're going to just give you the gist of the story and then make some observations about the story. They lived in the land of Bethlehem, a man by the name of Elimelech, and his wife Naomi, and their two sons, Malon and Chilion. There came a famine in the land of Bethlehem, and they moved down to the land of Moab, and sojourned there for a while. While they were there, the two sons took unto them each one a wife. The name of one of them was Orpha, and the name of the other was Ruth. After they'd lived there about 10 years, all three of the men, Elimelech, Melon, and Chilion, all three died, left Naomi and the two daughters-in-law left. And after Naomi had found out that the famine was over down in the land of Bethlehem, she decided to go back home. She called her two daughters-in-laws and told them to return to their father's house. and seek them a husband among their own people, and that she would go back alone to Bethlehem. Well, the girls didn't hardly want to let her go by herself, and finally Orpho was persuaded to go back home. But Ruth would not be persuaded to leave her mother-in-law. And the statement that she made in connection with her mother-in-law is interesting to read. Entreat me not to leave thee, ought to return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go. And where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, there will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. And so Ruth claimed to her mother-in-law she wouldn't let her go. But they went on together, and they arrived in Bethlehem. The whole city was stirred. They came out there and said, now, isn't this Naomi that left us here some years ago? And she said, call me not Naomi, which means pleasant, but call me Myra, bitter. For the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me back home again empty. Why then call ye me, Naomi? Seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me." You know, she didn't show a very fine spirit there when she said that the Lord had brought her home again empty, because she had with her her daughter-in-law, that was worth more to her than if she'd had lots of money because Ruth was a great comfort to her and was a means of her making a living because Ruth went out to glean in the fields and began to make some way of living where they could live and get together. I hate to see a person when they let bitterness creep up in their heart. I know my late pastor, he used to make the statement, he said, I can't afford to get bitter. No matter how the enemy fought him, no matter how those that despised him, those that hated him, how bitter their fight was against him, he said, never let bitterness creep up in your heart. You can't afford to. You can't let bitterness creep up in your heart. But now when they got to Bethlehem, it was in the time of harvest. And as the custom was in those days, when the reapers went to reap their grain, they didn't cut all of the grain down, but they left some of the grain standing, left the fence corners without cutting them too closely, and the poor people of the land would come in there and glean behind the reapers and take the grain home with them to use for their own use. And so as soon as they got settled, Ruth went out to find a job, went out to find some way of making a living for she and her mother-in-law. And the Lord directed her steps toward the field of Boaz. The scripture says it was her hap, or her happened so, to get into that field. But God was leading her to that particular field. So when Boaz came there to see his reapers, see how they were getting along, and saw this strange woman there in the field reaping after the reapers, gathering after the reapers. He saw that she was a stranger. He began to inquire about her, found out who she was. found out that she was the daughter-in-law who had come back from the land of Moab with Naomi. And so he called her aside and told her to come on into the house there with the reapers and eat the food that they had and drink of the water that they had in the shed. Then he made this statement to her. It hath been fully showed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband, and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." I like that statement, under whose wings thou art come to trust. Naomi came, left her home, her people, her gods, her religion, everything she had, and came down with Naomi not knowing where she was going and yet looking to the Lord the Lord that Naomi worshipped Looking to the Lord that no doubt Naomi had told her about many times as they in their family gathering and they around the home and she had come to rest under the shelter of the Lord God of Naomi and Now, when Naomi found out that it was in Boaz's field that Ruth had been gleaning, she told Ruth that Boaz was a near kinsman. And she said, now, shall I seek rest for thee? That's a quaint expression. In other words, shall I seek to have this land redeemed and have a husband for you to raise up seed under your dead husband? That's an interesting story. Let's turn to the book of Ruth, if you have it right there, and let's read that last chapter. which tells about how the redemption actually worked out in actuality. She has already declared her intention to Boaz, telling him that he was a near kinsman and that she would like to be redeemed. Then went Boaz up to the gate and sat him down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz came by, unto whom he said, hold such an one, turn aside and sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman, and this was a kinsman who was nearer of kin to Naomi than he, and therefore had the first choice of redemption. He said unto the kinsman, Naomi that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's. And I thought to advertise thee, saying, buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it. But if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me that I may know. For there is none to redeem it beside thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, what day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi? Thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. Redeem thou my right to thyself, for I cannot redeem it. This New York Inman couldn't redeem the land because he had a son of his own. And if he were to redeem the land, he would have to name the next born child, the male child, after the dead husband, after Ruth's dead husband, and it would mar his inheritance. So therefore, he said he could not redeem it. Now, this was the manner in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing. For to confirm all things, a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor. And this was a testimony in Israel. Kind of like signing your name to a note. Now, instead of signing your name back in those days, they'd pull off one of the shoes and gave it as a witness, as a testimony. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witness this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chileon's, and Melon's, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Melon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place. Ye are witness this day. And all the people that were in the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel, and like Leah, which too did build the house of Israel, and do thy worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem. And let thy house be like the house of Phares, whom Tamar bear unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife. And when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. And then let's notice in that 17th verse. And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, This is a son born to Naomi. And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. So we see that this child, Ruth's child, became the grandfather of David in the lineage of the Messiah. Now let's read the Law of Redemption. They had a special law back there in the time of the children of Israel to cover those people who had become poor and had to sell part of their possession. In Leviticus, the 25th chapter, beginning with the 23rd verse, we find the Law of Redemption. The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is mine. You know, the Arabs and the Jews are fighting now over the land of Palestine. God has given it to the Jews as a perpetual gift, and the land is not to be sold. But the Arabs are fighting now. They claim that on account of Ishmael being their father, there is a division there, and that's what the battle is over in the land of Palestine now. The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession, you shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possessions, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. But if he be not able to restore it to him, Then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that bought it until the year of Jubilee, every fifty years. That was what is called a year of Jubilee. And in the Jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. It was not possible then for a family to be without their possession over fifty years. And when a person bought a piece of ground, he counted the number of years it was until the day of the Jubilee, If it was only two years to the time of jubilee, he gave them, like you might say, the rental for two years. If it was ten years until the year of jubilee, he would buy the land for ten years. If the jubilee had just passed, he would buy it for 49 years or until the next jubilee came around. Now, there were three things that was necessary for redemption of the possession. One, the individual who redeemed it must be a kinsman. Secondly, he must be able to redeem. That is, he must have the money to pay the price required for the redemption. And third, he must be willing to redeem it. The Lord Jesus Christ is our kinsman, redeemer. By nature, man has sold himself into the bondage of sin and of death. And as you might say, he has sold his possessions, even as Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. It is said of Israel in 2 Kings 17, 17, they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. Therefore, a man being sold unto sin needs a redeemer, someone to redeem him from the power and the penalty of sin. Now, although man does not deserve a Redeemer, and although man at first does not even desire a Redeemer, man doesn't even realize that he's under bondage until the Holy Spirit awakens him and shows him that he is a slave to sin. And even then, until God gives him a desire after Christ, until God gives him a desire after salvation, man does not want salvation, does not desire. Salvation but even so a Redeemer has been found Job says in the 33rd chapter in the 24th verse then he is gracious unto him and saith Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom The Redeemer then who paid that ransom price and what a price the price of his own precious blood is our blessed Lord and We'll see how that Christ meets all three of the requirements of the redemption. First of all, He is our near kinsman. Christ became flesh and dwelt among men. In Hebrews, the second chapter, the 16th through the 18th verses, for verily He took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things, it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Christ did not take upon himself the nature of angel, but he took upon himself the seed of Abraham became in all points tempted, like as we are, became one of us, one year of kin unto us, that he might redeem us. And the 14th verse of that same chapter tells us, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. The Word," we're told in John 1, 14, "...the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Christ Jesus came to this earth, was born of a virgin, lived among men, suffered the temptations that you and I go through with, he suffered privation, he suffered hunger, he had not a place that he could call his own, a bed to lay his head on. He was the God-man, born of a virgin, come to this world for one purpose, that is to redeem sinful man. He was God, but he was also man. Now then, the second requirement was that he be able to redeem. Did Christ have any money? Did he have any riches? Did he have anything whereby he might redeem man? Does he have the money to satisfy the debt? He gave something infinitely more valuable than silver and gold. Well, Galatians 1-4 tells us, who gave himself, for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father. He gave himself. God the Father gave his Son. 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. Again, in Galatians 2.20, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 1 Timothy 2, 6. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself Won't you notice the times that that word expression gave himself on these scriptures is repeated. Who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Then again in Titus 2, 14. Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Christ gave himself. Well, how did he give himself? He gave his head to the smiters. He gave his back to those who smote him with the Roman scourge. He gave his body to be crucified. He gave his blood as a substitute. The wages of sin is death. The redemption must include blood. The Lord Jesus Christ gave his blood. that he might redeem mankind unto himself. His blood in the first Peter, the first chapter in the 19th verse, is called precious blood. Christ gave himself without spot unto God. He laid down his life. He says, no man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Christ gave himself the most precious gift that anyone could give. You may give money, money soon passes away, money tarnishes. But when you give yourself, you've given the best gift, the most precious gift, the most costly gift that anyone can give. The third requirement then is that he be willing to redeem. Christ says in Psalms 40 in 8th verse, I delight to do thy will, O God. Christ came into the world for one purpose, that is, to give himself a ransom for sinners, to give himself for sinful man, that man might have eternal life through Christ Jesus. Isaiah 53.10 tells us, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Christ gave himself willingly. He did not have to be driven to the cross. He did not have to be forced to go to the cross. The Roman soldiers did not slay him. The Roman soldiers did not slay him. They did not put him to death, but he gave himself. He could have called for 10,000 angels. He could have called for legions of angels to have delivered him from the cross, but he gave himself. As a lamb, he opened not his mouth. He made no complaint, as his soul was offered as a sacrifice for sin. John said in the 10th chapter, the 17th and 18th verses, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me." He said, no man takes my life away from me. I could get up from here and walk off. I could even come down from the cross after he was nailed to the cross and could have walked off even then. But if he had, you and I would not have had a substitute. You and I would have been doomed and damned forever. Because He loved us, He laid down His life for us. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. Yes, my Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect kinsman redeemer. Can you understand such love as that? Can you fathom the depth of God's love that he would give his only begotten son? Can you fathom the depth of Christ's love who suffered agonies such as the human body could hardly stand? I don't know if another individual could have stood the punishment the physical punishment that the body of Christ took. From there in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he sweated as it were, drops of blood. As he went on into the soldiers' praetorium halls there and had the crown of thorns pressed upon his brow. As he was spit upon, as he was vilified, as they made all kinds of jokes out of him, as they slapped him, hit him with their fists. and punished his body in every way, tortured his body in practically every way you can think of. Then the Roman soldier tearing his body to shreds with the cattle nine tails. Can you imagine the Lord Jesus Christ doing that because he loved us? Because he loved us, not because he had to, but because he loved us. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. We became sons of God through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the Lord. He fulfilled all the requirements that God required of him. Now, why was Christ able to give himself for us? because there was no taint of sin in his blood. You and I would not have been an acceptable sacrifice. You and I would not have been acceptable unto God because there is a taint of sin in our blood. Every individual born of Adam has a taint of sin in his blood. But the Lord Jesus Christ had no sinful blood in his body. His Father was God. His blood was pure blood. There was no taint of sin in him. There was no sin found in him, no guilt was found, no guile was found in his mouth. He was the only perfect one that ever lived. Therefore he was able to offer unto God, God's blood. And therefore was able to make an acceptable sacrifice unto God for us. He is my kinsman redeemer. He was not only able to save, He was not only able to redeem, but He was willing to redeem. And I praise God that He was. I praise God that He was willing to give Himself for me. He is my surety. He is the surety of the covenant. He made sure that I'd get to heaven because He paid for all of my sins, every one of my sins. Past, present, and future are under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God cannot see them. They're cast behind his back. They're cast into the depths of the sea. As far as the east is from the west, so God hath covered our sins and hid our sins from him. He is my security. I am secure in him. The world may rage. Satan may rage. but he can't do anything because God has redeemed me by His blood. The Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior, my Redeemer, has redeemed my soul from going down to the pit. Christ is my portion day by day. I feed upon Him. I feed upon His Word. I feed upon Christ as He's lifted up in the Word, as He reveals Himself to me day by day, moment by moment, and hour by hour. Christ is the lover of my soul. Yea, I say with Solomon, he is altogether lovely. He is altogether lovely. Do you know him? Do you know him in the forgiveness of sins? Do you know him in redemption? Has he redeemed your soul? Has he given you eternal life? And do you know him as your Savior, as your Redeemer, as your Lord? If you don't, then is there a cry in your heart? If there's a cry in your heart after Him, then it's because He put that cry there. If there's a desire in your heart after the Lord Jesus Christ, if there's a longing to know Him and to be redeemed, then it's because God put it there, because that's not by nature. That's not a natural desire, but it's a desire that God has put there. And if there's a desire in your heart, then you cry to Him. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. because God doesn't tease sinners. There are too many promises in God's Word for you to go to hell. Lay hold thy faith upon the promises of God and upon the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and as your Redeemer. And may He redeem you and give you life eternal. Let's stand. Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank you tonight for Christ who loved us, gave Himself for us. Heavenly Father, we thank You that that salvation was made personal to me one day, that it became me, the sinner for whom Christ died. And dear Father, we pray that Thou be with every awakened soul here tonight, deal with each one of them according to Thy mercy, according to Thy wisdom, according to Thy knowledge. Heavenly Father, bring them to know Thee as our Savior and our Lord. Those who are not awakened, those who have no concern about their soul, Father, we pray that thou would cause them to realize their lost condition. Awaken them, Heavenly Father, deal with them in mercy and bring them to know Christ as Savior, as Lord, as Redeemer, as their Master, which in our precious Lord's name we ask. Amen.