But as we looked at last week, we looked at the picture that the Lord has given us through the life of Elimelech. And of course you know his life of Elimelech, he is the leader, he is the patriarch of that family, which Naomi is his wife. And he ends up having two wonderful baby boys that turn into men. But you know the story, and as we went through it last week, he goes out of the will of God, he steps out of fellowship with the Lord, and he only intended to do it just a little bit. I don't know if that resonated with you all this week, how we never really intend to get out of fellowship with the Lord, but it seems we find ourselves more and more, as the days approach, We've seen ourself out of fellowship, seems many more times than we are in fellowship. And I'm not trying to make a judgmental statement and try to put the guilt trip on you, but I only have my life to gauge from. And it seems I would like the continual fellowship, but it seems so many times I'm in and I'm out, and I'm in and I'm out, and I'm in, I'm like a, you know, just a mess. But we see Elimelech who pictures that man who steps out of fellowship with God, and he only intended to go for a little while. But the thing ends up, not only that, he steps out, he gets out, he steps out, and of course, we said last week, he checks out. He ends up dying in the land of Moab. By the way, Moab means desire. Could we just say this morning that the reason they went there was to achieve their desires? But of course her husband steps out of fellowship, he ends up staying out of fellowship longer than he planned, and ends up losing his life. He dies an early death out of fellowship, leaving a ruined heritage, a ruined heritage. And I notice that, and of course that's verse 3 and verse 4, with the whole family now blowing apart. The boys marry unsaved women. Priorities are no longer to please God. And you can see that because if the priorities were to please God, then the boys would not have married Moabites. So you gotta look at what the scripture is trying to teach you. When you're out of fellowship with God, not only does it destroy your family, but it prevents you and precludes you from making the right decisions moving forward. Something that started wrong, it usually, usually ends wrong if you don't do anything about it. So the boys, of course, they marry unsaved women. You know all about that. And then in verse five, the blown apart family is then completely decimated when the two boys, Malon and Chilian, they die. I mean, you thought General Hospital was sad. You thought Santa Barbara was rough. I mean, the Moab mess, you can call this. And the entire family's blown apart. And they check out just like daddy does. And this thought came to my mind, like father, like son. No matter what you think about the old man, and I say that out of love and respect and admiration for the old man that raised me. He wasn't my biological father, but man, I think he did the best he could. And he put something into me, as the old preachers say, you can't get off with Ajax. And as much as you dislike many times the old man, You are a pretty good replica of him. You think the way he does. When you get mad and you hurt yourself in the shop, you cuss like he does. Maybe not always audibly, right? But you're, it's like father like son. So the boys end up dying out of the will of God, marrying unsaved women. And now you've got three gals stuck on the backside of Moab somewhere. Two that naturally understand Moab because they're from there. But now you got Naomi. and she's a Jew, and she's in the wrong place, obviously at the wrong time, and she has no men to naturally care for her soul. So we ended last week with the only solution found in verse six and seven, is you gotta get out. You just gotta get out. Many times when you're out of fellowship with Jesus Christ, the only solution is not to sit there and reexamine it and reinvent the wheel, but the only solution is you have got to get out of Moab. You've got to get out of the place that took you away from the Lord. So we looked at that and we settled on that last week, and of course when you preach a message like that, you can't expect a full altar. Why? Because you're all too dignified. If I go forward, they're all going to think that I'm out of fellowship with God. Well, so what if you are? So what if you aren't? You're gonna go pray for somebody else, maybe? I mean, I understand the day and age we're living. I mean, it's like, if you get up and preach against alcohol, if anyone goes to the altar like, Well, maybe they got in a fight with their wife this morning. Give them a break. Maybe it drives them to drink, you know, but anyways, I mean, you married her, I would probably drink. No, just kidding. Anyways, you know what I'm saying. It's the day and age we live in. So we left off with the only solution is to get out of Moab. And so, you know, Christian, you have got to get out of those situations and places and decisions and you can't always do it overnight. And you see Naomi, she's there 10 years. I don't know when the old guy kicked off, amen? I don't know if she spent all the life insurance or not, or she put some up, but by you looking over 21, 22, she comes back, I'm sure there was no life insurance then, but she comes back empty. And can I just tell you, until you get out of that place that is out of fellowship with God, you will remain empty as a Christian. You're just always going to have that bad Christian breath on you. And within a matter of five to seven minutes talking with any one individual, they're automatically going to be able to locate the source of verse 21, which is your bitterness. It always seems to come up. No matter who we talk to, no matter the intentions of fellowship or just trying to be polite and get to know one another in the Lord, it always settles on where we're empty. It always settles on our bitterness, doesn't it? You say, I don't understand. I think that's human nature. Because deep down inside, there's a void for fellowship, and when we're not in fellowship with God, the only thing that eventually comes up, you eventually spill out what you're full of. So Naomi, she, in verse six, she makes the choice to get out of Moab. And I believe some of you all made that choice spiritually last week, to which I say, praise the Lord. By the way, really good to see you today, sis. Good to see you. I almost didn't recognize you. Amen. But Naomi makes the choice to get out of Moab. And the only solution that we see here, the remedy of 10 years living in the world, the remedy of 10 years living in the world, the remedy of 10 years of living in the world, is to get out. A lot of Christians love to live in the world, but come to church. Let me tell you what, that is the most miserable experience in the world. When you're living in Moab, but yet you try to cross the border, come back to praise in God, there's just no praise there. You just sit there like a bump on a log. Bless me if you can, you know. Why? You're empty. In verse 21 we read this, let's read this verse 21. I won't read the passage for the sake of time, but we'll be covering the rest of this chapter. The Bible says, Naomi says, I went out full and the Lord had brought me home again empty. Not only is it testimony of men and women who here have stepped outside the will of God, But if you'll consider with me that if you stay out of fellowship, out of the will of God for your life, you will in fact be not only empty, not only empty when you're around other Christians, but you're gonna be empty at the judgment seat of Christ too. To me, that's the biggest concern. And I know you're like, preacher, I mean, Corona's back on the rise, and they're gonna shut things down, and they wanna chip everybody, they wanna do this, but the fact of the matter is, Are you putting anything up over yonder? You might not have the finances you want on this side of the heaven's door, but can I tell you, you can have them over there. The problem with Christians and Gentiles is that we wish we were Jews because Jews have money and you don't. I don't either. If you do, you've worked hard and you've worked your entire life to put up a little bit and praise the Lord, you still live in a country that lets you do that. Wife and I visited Canada in 2001 on a missions trip and found out a good friend of the missionary, there's a pastor there was part of the RCMP and he's real in shape guy, real, you know, I don't know, whatever the, was a Dudley do right looking guy there. And at that time he was making close to $60,000. In 2001, that's 20 years ago almost, and I'm going, oh, you do pretty good. He's like, yeah, but don't forget, because of our communist or socialist state, my tax rate is 52%. I'm like, oh, dude, I make more than you. I'm working at McDonald's. I make more than you do. You might not have the finances here, but you can have them there. But the longer you stay out of the will of God, the longer you stay out of fellowship, it prevents you from being able to lay up treasure in heaven. What it'll do is it'll make you empty at the judgment seat of Christ, right? There's gold, silver, precious stones, there's wood, hay, and stubble. And when you do things for yourself down here, when you gratify your flesh and please the flesh and run errands for a corpse, all you're doing is you're just throwing wood, hay, and stubble in that thing. You're putting stuff up, but when it passes through the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose eyes in the book of Revelation are as a flame of fire, guess what? It's going up. And Gabriel's like, yeah, we need a wheelbarrow for what? Ashes, because there ain't nothing left. And I'm afraid many Christians who have been in Moab for so long, have been out of fellowship for so long, it's not that they're stinking wicked. It's not that they're caught up, but yet you might be caught up in some besetting sin. It's just that they stay out of fellowship. They stay empty for rewards as well. The judgment seat of Christ after the rapture is what you need to put your eyes on, Christian. And you see here that Naomi, she goes out full, but she came back empty. So as we merge back into the narrative of the scriptures, Naomi's getting up and getting out of Moab. Good place to be, amen? And can I tell you, that journey doesn't happen just like that. You ever notice when you come to an altar, if you're one of those individuals, the altar actually means something to you. And this is something we've tried to preach since the Lord tried to give me the estimation of our altar. You need this altar. This is not just carpet and wood. You need this altar right here. There's something to be gained by coming to an old-fashioned altar. And if you can, I'm not climbing on you. You got a bad back, you got a bad knee, bad hip, bad hip. I get it. I get it. Your altar is where you're at. And yes, you can fellowship with God, but you need this stinking altar right here. You put some dates in your Bible where God gave you some victories over things and helped you get out of Moab. She's getting out of Moab. And while the passage of Scripture shows Naomi getting right, that's what you're looking at in your Bible there, and getting out also shows you and I the text, there's a test that now lies for Orpah and Ruth. See, Orpah and Ruth are the daughters, daughter-in-laws of Naomi. And what you see in verses 7, I believe it's through about 14 or 15 there, is a test. And Naomi's about to give her daughter-in-laws a test. And there's always a test as soon as you wanna get out of Moab, isn't there? As soon as you wanna get back into fellowship with God, there's always something, you're just like, you're just running into it. It's right there, you're like, really, I wanted to do right and I gotta put up with this? Is it just me, maybe? There's always a test as soon as you try to do right. There's always something that wants to prevent you from going back to Judah, going back to praising God. But there's a test, and you know what that test is? That test is to test the two girls' motives. You see, Naomi now has no more sons to give them for husbands. You see that? In the Jewish law, when your husband died, you'll be thankful you're an American when I say this. If you were to die, then your brother was supposed to, and you didn't have no kids, your brother was supposed to come in and do the job of the kinsman redeemer and raise up seed. I'm thankful I live in America. Why? I wouldn't want to have to marry somebody else. There'd surely be a divorce somewhere. But Naomi has no more sons to give them for a husband, and that's just what the girls want. Not like that in America anymore, is it? You see, in the Bible, what a gal wanted is you read the scriptures. You might think this is chauvinistic, but that just shows you you've been watching way too much of the toilet vision. In the Bible, A good girl, she wanted to marry and have children. And she wanted the security of a home and a husband and children. Amen. That's healthy. That's natural affection, by the way. Now if you can't because of some other reason, I understand that. But that's what these girls wanted, so since Naomi had no more sons, she throws the test of motive on it. And can I tell you as you decide and you choose to be in fellowship with Jesus Christ, immediately there's gonna be a test of the motive why you're doing what you're doing. If you make up your mind to get out of Moab, the country of desire, if you say, you know what, I'm tired of chasing my own desires, I'm tired of feeding my own flesh, I'm tired of the mess I'm in, the Lord's gonna provide a test to test your motive. Motive's important. And this test of motive, Naomi tells them to go back, because even if Naomi, she says in the past, you know, she alludes to this, even if she can get married and have a son right now, it's still 13 years before that Jewish boy has a bar mitzvah and is a man. She's saying, girls, you gonna wait 14 years? He's like, go! She's testing their motive. So as you're at the precipice of getting back into fellowship with God, which can be done like that, immediately, upon the decision made, there's a test of your motive. Why are you doing what you're doing? Have you ever just stopped and asked yourself why you do what you do for the Lord? You ever just stop and consider that? Because I see in the text a test of motives. So on her way out, Naomi, she's getting right, and she tests the girls on their motives. Now the right thing to do, by the way, according to the Jewish law, is to go back with Naomi. That's the right thing. And to take, can I say it like this, to take her chances, take their chances on the kinsman redeemer. See, you know how the book of Ruth ends if you've read the Bible. You know that she gets the charming Schwab, Debonair, Boaz, loaded to the gills. I mean, what a great thing for you gals to get married, but then marry someone who's rich on top of that. Not just the name rich, but literally rich. That's a, what a blessing. But you know what? They weren't promised that. Can I just back up in a little bit and try to pull out of the text just a little bit and say, when you choose to be in fellowship with God, God does not guarantee it's gonna be an easy road. So the motives are now tested. And Naomi says, go back. You notice, I can't remember which verse it is, I think it's 8, she says, go back to your mother's house. Go on back to mama. But yet, she turns around in the next verse or two and says, I pray that you find rest in the house of your husband. Naomi, which is it? Make up your mind. It's a test. See, the Jewish law said that you would go take your chances on the kinsman redeemer. And see, and there was no guarantee that Boaz would even fulfill the part of the kinsman redeemer. Because if he wanted out and he didn't want to mar his own heritage, you know what he could do? Bring the shoe. He said, I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, you read up about it. But there is no guarantee that those girls going with Naomi would have husbands or children whatsoever. Can I say by way as we start this message today, when you get into fellowship with God and you get in the will of God, I cannot promise you that things are always going to go the right way for you. I can promise you fellowship though. I can promise you closeness. I can promise you communion. and a relationship with Jesus Christ that is literally out of this world. But I cannot promise you that next week your bills will be paid. I cannot promise you that you're going to have a job that's going to last 40 years with a great retirement. I cannot promise you that your family is always going to like you because after all you go to that church and they're not very nice. So we see the test of motives. Naomi's testing the two girls' motives for going here in Christian. What the Lord is interested today in is your motive. Will you look with me just for a moment to 1 Corinthians 3? I want to talk about your motives for a minute. 1 Corinthians 3, many of you know the passage. It's about the judgment seat of Christ. The Lord is extremely interested in your motives. He's not as interested as you would think in the amount or number of things that you're currently busy doing. A lot of Baptists and a lot of well-meaning Christians would rather be busy than be doing the right thing with the right motive. Amen? Men, you're like that. Men, you would rather be busy. If you're a normal man, you would rather be busy even sweating. You hate the first sweat, but once you break sweat, you'll sweat all day long. Why? You'd rather, you were designed to be busy. But in 1 Corinthians 3, look at verse 13, we're talking about the judgment seat of Christ here. Everything you have done for the Lord, guess what? It goes through the fire. I believe the Lord is going to look at every single thing you've done and is going to judge everything you've ever done by the motive by which you did it. Look at verse 13, it says, Every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, that's the day of the judgment seat of Christ, because it shall be revealed by fire. In other words, that work that you've done for the Lord, quote unquote, And it, quote unquote, for the Lord, it goes through the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, which are as a flame of fire, and he burns the thing out. And what is left over was done with the right motive. Because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work. Here's the key phrase of what sort it is. So when you look at your own life as a child of God, you gotta ask yourself, what I'm doing, how I'm living, what I'm doing with whatever it is God's given me, what sort is it? Not does it look right, not do people think it's right, but what is my motive behind what I am doing? And what determines, can I say this this morning, what determines your motive is nothing more than your supreme affection. Let me say that again, what determines Your motive today as a Christian is solely dependent upon your supreme affection. In other words, whatever you love the most is what guides you in your decision-making process. We're doing all right this morning. It's quiet. Can I submit to you this morning that the moment you choose to get into fellowship with God, the first thing that must be revealed to you is your motive for doing so? Your motive for doing so. Are you leaving Moab simply because you are anxious to run and try something new? Turn over a new leaf? Or do you really desire fellowship with Jesus Christ? Do you really desire closeness? Do you really desire communion? Remember Hagar, the bond slave of Sarai there, she got treated pretty poorly. So she ran. And what you see in that text there in the book of Genesis chapter 16 verses 8 through 14, I believe it is, is what you see is a woman, which men do it too, that runs from her problems. Well, lo and behold, the Lord shows up. And the Lord says, oh man, I feel so sorry for you. No, he says, so what you running for? You know what he tells her? Go back. I know Christians are in a hurry many times to run for their problems. So many of us think, well, I need to be in fellowship with Jesus Christ, which you do. But let me ask you this question. Why is the motive? What's your motive for doing it? Are you running from a problem? A lot of times, as Christians, what you need to do instead of hide behind a religious motto or a religious cliche, you just need to face your problems. Some of you are running right now. I don't know what it is. I'm not the Holy Spirit. I'm not even a good fifth part of the Trinity. I ain't no part of the Trinity. I'm just in the body of Christ. But the question this morning as we try to develop, and I know I'm kind of stutter-stepping a little bit, is what is your motive for doing why what you do? Do you come to church, and I'm thankful you do, but do you come to church so someone doesn't bug the fire out of you and ask you where you've been? Do you come to church so somebody doesn't text you like, we missed you this week? Which we do. Hey man, I love seeing my family. Don't you? I'm not talking about your carnal, fleshly, grumpy, nobody can ever please you. I'm talking about, don't you like to see your family? I like to see, and we're all family here. If you're saved, we're in the same family. He said, but you're a nerd. Yeah, you pray for me. I get all that, right? But what is your motive for doing what you do for the Lord? He said, I don't preach. I don't do anything for the Lord. Well, then that's a different point altogether, right? Why? You're too busy doing for you. You're still stuck in Moab. You're still stuck in your own desires. Trying to help you this morning. So the Lord is interested in your motive. And we look at Orpah. A different derivation of that would be Oprah. She lines up perfectly, by the way, but that's another message for another day. Orpah's motive was wrong. You see in the text today in Chapter 1, Orpah, she's squalling and aballing. She's throwing a fit. I mean, she's probably got so much makeup on, she's crying, looks like her gallbladder busted. And she's squalling and aballing. And it's all a show. You know why? Because she has no intention of staying. She knows the right thing is to stay with Naomi. Naomi's got the true God. Naomi's getting the thing right. Naomi's coming out of Moab. But Orpah's motive was wrong. If you notice here, Orpah's squalling and bawling when Naomi says to her in verse 8, I paraphrase here, go on back to Mama's house. Go on back to Mama's house. Orpah doesn't mean a thing with those tears, but I believe, as I read this over and over, you know what I think I see in there, Brother Mel? I think Orpah is sincerely crying because she knows she'll never see her mother-in-law again. I think that was part of the sadness. Because I believe she already made up her mind. She wasn't going any farther with that white horse religion. She wasn't going to do it. She'd already lost her husband. And you know what? It's too much. This thing costs too much for me to go on. I'm out. Orpah's motive was wrong. She ends up going, if you look at verse 15, she ends up going to two different things, her people and her God. Do you see that, verse 15? Now you people, the people of God, you're a different sort. You really are. You're the best people there are. But you're weird. That's why you get along, most of you get along better with one another than you do your own family. Than your own family. You're weird that way. But you're part of a special family. Not like short bus special, but amen. Maybe Sunday's pretty close. Amen? You know what Orpah wanted? I see this thing laid out in my mind. As I think about this thing, Orpah, she wanted a good job. Amen? At least 100,000 a year. Yeah. We're looking at Orpah's motives this morning. You say, I don't see it. Expand your mind a little bit. It's in the Bible somewhere. But Orpah, she wanted a good job. She wanted at least 100,000 a year, more than she wanted God's will. She wanted a new house. She wanted a couple of vacations every year, more than fellowship with Jesus Christ. She wanted new cars, more than closeness. She wanted a husband. Nothing wrong with that, if you're a woman. She wanted kids. She even wanted grandkids. Can't go wrong there. That's a pretty good way of saying it. Don't you want grandkids? If you got them, do something with them. Amen? Love them. She wanted a husband. She wanted physical fruit more than spiritual fruit. And even though it would have been right to go back with Naomi for the possibility, for the possibility, for the possibility of never getting any of that down here. Orpah looked at that thing. She counted the cost. And at 30,000 feet, she pulls a ripcord and says, I'm out of here. Because there's no guarantee that if I go with that goofy gal, that I'm going to get any of that. And that's what I want. It was a test of her motive. I believe Orpah said somewhere in her heart of hearts, I've worked too hard for where I'm at, and if you think that I'm changing my lifestyle for Jesus Christ, you're out of your gourd. I've lost too much. It has cost me too much to go any further. But Orpah gives a good show. She hits the altar with Naomi. Remember, chapter 1, verses 7 to 21, there's a picture of Naomi getting right with God. Now it appears that she gets right for a carnal reason, but hey, regardless of the reason you get right with God, it's still good to get right with God, ain't it? Whether or not you come, let's say you lay out of church for a while, and you come back to the church, you still might be a soup sandwich, but it's sure good to be back in church, ain't it? So you see Naomi, she's getting right with God, slowly. Isn't it a process? You don't like, oh, I'm back in church, and you know, oh, oh, everything's wonderful now. It's a process. Naomi's getting right, verses 7 through 22. She's got some hang-ups. She's got some trouble. We'll reveal that in just a little bit. But she's trying to get right with God, and she tests her two daughters on, are you going to go with me? And she tests, she's really saying that, but she's like, go ahead and go on. She wants to see who wants to go willingly. The Lord, the Holy Spirit is not a Calvinist. He doesn't want to drag you kicking and screaming. He wants you to come willingly. He wants you to love him willingly. He wants you to want to spend time with him. And if you don't, he's like, you're still my child. Okay, you don't get the benefit from it. Orpah's got the wrong motive. She hits the altar with Naomi, figuratively speaking. She blibbers and blabbers and blubbers and blows snot and makes a bunch of empty promises. She might have even filled out decision cards. But she got over her empty words at the altar on the way back to Judah because her motives were unfortunately wrong. And out goes Orpah. She never makes it back to Judah. And Judah means praising God. She never makes it back to the place where she can praise God. Often wonder how Orpah ended up fulfilling her life. I don't put much weight in Josephus. He's a bootlicking Catholic historian. But anyways, he's got Orpah as being the mother of the five giants, Goliath being the top. You say it's not in Scripture yet, it's just conjecture. But in type it would make sense, since Ruth is now in the messianic line of Jesus Christ. Orpah's got the wrong motive this morning. She didn't mean a word she said at the altar. She tried the Lord out for a spell, but he didn't give her all she wanted. Is any of this coming through? Orpah came up short. So she pitches the people of God in verse 15. You see that? She pitches the people of God in verse 15 and she says this, I'm going back to my peeps. Y'all are a bunch of stuck up snobs. Every time I come here, you're preaching right at me. Wait a minute, there's only one preacher, so don't blame all these sheep here for your being a reprobate. Don't get mad at the people of God because the preacher got a big mouth just trying to do what God told him to do. Don't run out of here and get mad because, you know, nobody's friendly. Everyone's friendly. You're just out of the will of God, bro, sis. You're stinking Orpah. So she pitches the people of God in verse 15. She goes back to her peeps. She goes right back to the old life. You know, Peter did the same thing, didn't he? As soon as he denied the Lord Jesus Christ, you find over in John 21, he goes, I go a-fishing. Now wait a minute, the Lord says, from henceforth thou shalt be fishers of, he says, uh-uh, is zebko and ripolitan, the walleye are hammering it. He goes right back to doing what the Lord said he didn't need to do anymore. And he was so influential in his leadership that he took eight other disciples with him. See, we never do backslide alone, do we? Man, that thing just keeps popping up. Well, I'm just going to go live my life the way I want to. It don't work that way. You always take somebody with you. Orpah's got the wrong motive this morning trying to paint a picture in your mind. And text says in verse 15, she went back to her gods and the whole time her motives are wrong because, you know, you see her affection had never changed. because she was born in the wrong country. Indicative she never had the new birth. Her affections were never set on things above. Colossians chapter 3 verse 2. You see, once your affections are in the right place, your motive for what you're doing can then be right. Have you ever just stopped and examined your own motives for why you do what you do? Well, I believe that a Christian ought to, okay, what is your motive for that? Just examine your motive this morning. Well, I believe, I don't think a Christian should cut the grass on Saturday. What if you're busy Saturday, or Sunday? What if you're busy Saturday? Well, I don't think they should do it anyways. Well, what's your motive for that? Maybe you're trying to put on a display that you're maybe more spiritual than you really are. I could be mistaken but I believe in Sunday school we read that the Lord took all those ordinances that were against us and he nailed every one of them to the tree. So now we're going to teach the doctrine of cutting your grass on a Sunday. My only question is I don't care if you're going to cut it on Sunday, can you hit mine when you're done or are you in fellowship with God when you do it? That's all I care about. Well, that's not the way I was raised. Well, maybe the way you were raised was a little bit of heartburn with it. How dare you? Well, how dare you get stuck up in tradition? So she pitches the people of God in verse 15. She goes back to her peeps. Verse 15, she goes back to not only her peeps, but her gods. And the reason she did that, because her affection was wrong. How's your affection this morning, Christian? Thought-provoking. You see, once your affection is in the right place, your motive for what you're doing can be right. Take your Bible, go to 1 Thessalonians 1. I want you to see this with your own eyes here. Take a break from what we're trying to accomplish here this morning and look at your motives. 1 Thessalonians 1, Paul lays it out. It couldn't get any clearer. 1 Thessalonians 1, look at verse 3. Paul says in verse three, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in Christ Jesus in the sight of God and our Father. And I say this this morning, the motive for what you do for Jesus Christ must always and 100% be love. Must always be 100% love. That's why we don't shove you into service here. Why? It's not my place. However, can I say this, that the more you're in fellowship with Jesus Christ, that focal point will then culminate in finding what God wants you to do. That is a byproduct of being in fellowship with God. So when you look at a Christian's life, if you're not doing anything for God, you have to ask yourself this question, am I A, in a holding pattern? Or am I just never in fellowship with God and I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do? The motive must be love. Any other motive is a wrong motive. Can I say this? Any other motive this morning than love for Jesus Christ always takes you back to Moab, back to your own desires. He said, I don't get what you're trying to say. Just examine your heart this morning. Are you chasing your desires or are you chasing his? Are you chasing what you want to do? Are you chasing your hopes, your dreams, or is your motive because you love the Lord Jesus Christ because someday, 2,000 years ago, a man died and shed his blood for your wretched soul? Well, Orpah's motive was wrong, but Ruth has the right motive in our passage today. Look at verse 14. We notice that Orpah gives the kiss of betrayal just like Judas. But in chapter, verse 14 there, we notice an interesting phrase about Ruth. Ruth clave unto Naomi. You see that? He clave unto her. She clave unto her. You see, Ruth loved Naomi. And here in verse 16, you could call this Ruth's conversion. You see, she loves Naomi and she loves the God of Naomi. Look at verse 16, the Bible says, Ruth's motive here is revealed, it's measured. Ruth's motive is love. Ruth begs Naomi to not send her away. Ruth was determined that the God of Naomi was the true God. Ruth submitted herself to where the Lord would take Naomi. Ruth submitted herself to live where God told Naomi to live. Ruth yields herself to join up with the people of God. And most importantly, Ruth takes Jehovah God as her own God. That's a conversion of Ruth. Ruth's motive is revealed and Ruth's motive, I believe, here is love. So we have to stop at this point and say this, Christian, do you love the Lord? What's your motive this morning? Do you pray because you love Him? Or do you pray because you love His blessings? Do you read your Bible because you love Him? Do you read it so you can check it off? Do you witness because you love Him and you love how He's changed your life and what He's done for you? Because without the death of His Son on the cross, you'd probably be burning in hell tonight, or somewhere in a ditch, or somewhere drunk, or somewhere high, or someone with a needle in your arm, or messed up, or on crack, or dead. Or do you do it so you have something to say, look what I did? We're talking about motive this morning. What is your motive? Do you love the Lord? I believe when we stand before him as a judgment seat of Christ and we see a man like the Apostle Paul get dump truck load after dump truck load of rewards, I believe then we'll wish we would have done more. I believe then we'll realize how many times we've had the wrong motive for why we did what we did. I just want to ask you this morning, do you love Jesus Christ? Or are you like Orpah and you just Maybe love yourself a little bit more. It's so easy to get hung up on this piece of junk that you carry around with you. The Bible says that we're dead with Christ, but yet this flesh screams at us night and day. You wake up in the middle of the night, unless there's something wrong with you, you are hungry. You don't need nothing to eat. But it says, feed me, I'm a dying. And you're like, no you ain't, look at you. You can sleep all night long, 10 hours of sleep, that'd be the day, right? You get 10 hours of, oh, oh, you wouldn't know, more sleep than, you know, if you had 10 hours, that's what some of y'all get in three days. The moment you get in church. Well, maybe if he shouts and spits, I'll stay awake. No, you're still falling asleep. I'm watching you. Do you love Jesus Christ this morning? How's your motive, Christian? Do you come to the church house because you love Him and want to get a hold of Him? Or do you come to be seen? I'm not criticized this morning. I'm trying to get you to think. Or is your relationship with Jesus Christ, maybe it's like Orpah. Maybe you're in it for a while while it's convenient. I'll go to church while it's convenient, you know. I need a little bit of structure anyways. I need a little bit of religion in my life. I need to show everyone that I'm turning over a new leaf. No, you need to love Jesus. You need to learn for once in your life to just stop thinking about yourself and stop thinking about the problems and say, Jesus, I love you. I love what you did for me. I love what you did for me at Calvary. Thank you, Lord, for my salvation. Thank you, Lord, that I ain't going to hell. Thank you, Lord, for my family. They're a mess, but thank you anyways. Thank you that they ain't dead and they ain't killed me on top of that. Thank you, Lord. You love me, don't you, Lord? You know it's quiet when you can hear the fan squeak. But Orpah, she was going to give it a try for a while. That's because you all hang from the fans too much, amen? But really, Orpah had an ulterior motive. Orpah's motive was she needed a problem fixed. She needed a financial solution. She needed a fix to her status. She needed an improved profile. She had to get married. Christian, can I say this? If you're not married, you better be really careful. But I'm a lonely preacher. Yeah, that might be a blessing considering what you marry eventually. Amen. So you don't know what you're talking about. Shut your mouth. I'm a preacher. I know exactly what I'm talking about. When you move out of Moab, your motive will be measured. It must be measured. And if any other motive exists besides love, I just submit to you this morning that it will not work. 1 Timothy 6.6, look at that with me this morning. 1 Timothy 6.6, a little different message, but when you talk about motives, it requires a deep inward look. Just like all electronic gadgets must be reset on occasion, amen? If you've got a computer that's at least six months old, you've got to reset that cotton picket thing every once in a while, because it just gives you gang signs that don't listen to you. So you just like, you restart it, and it's like giving you like, now it froze up. So what do you do? You just, and then finally you just hold it for like five minutes. And then it boop, and it resets. First Timothy 6.6, the Bible says, but godliness with contentment is great gain. You say, that's a simple verse. Boy, it sure packs a punch this morning. You want to know why Christians are not gaining spiritually? And let me tell you, when I hear someone say that they're gaining spiritually, I'm encouraged. I love having a great service, amen. I love, you know, if we can get some good singing, some good specials, and fill it up the best we can. But when someone says, I'm gaining spiritually, man, that refreshes my soul. But you know why a lot of Christians aren't gaining spiritually? They're not content. It says, but godliness with contentment is what? Great gain. I'm godly, just look at me. Well, if you're so godly, how come you ain't content? How come you're not happy with what you got? I'm not talking about physical things, but if you are godly, then how come you're not happy? How come you're not content? Godliness with contentment is a great way. Some of the most miserable people I met are Christians that are living their life like Orpah. They're not content. Unless things are promised to them, unless they're guaranteed that they're gonna come out on top, they don't want nothing to do with it. I go to church. That's one service. That's all. That's it. Why? I'm too busy. Okay. And if you can't come because you have whatever. I get it, right? If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, take the thing back to Walmart. Dad used to say Kmart. But Orpah, she's in it for what will work for her. Ruth looks at that thing. You know she thought about it. She was a woman just like Orpah, and she's like, I'm not guaranteed a husband, I'm not guaranteed kids, I'm not guaranteed income, I'm not guaranteed anything at all, but that direction is the right direction, and Naomi's God is the right God. I want that! She's got the right motive, she goes after it. Of course, you know how the book of Ruth ends. When you move out of Moab, your motive must be measured Many Christians can't gain, they can't get out of Moab many times because they're not content. Most Christians follow the principle found in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 5. They have a form of godliness. I heard one preacher say this last week. Y'all dressed up on the outside, but you messed up on the inside. That's it. They got a form of godliness, but you deny the power thereof. Can I just say what you already know that you have every bit of Jesus Christ that you want to have right now? You do. If you want to go farther with Jesus Christ, then you do it. So I present to you today, you need to examine your motives why you're doing what you're doing. The move out of Moab will measure your motive in the Christian life every time. And here in our text of Ruth 1, 7 to 22, there are some choices that have to be made as you come out of Moab. And what never better before a time, and I know we're running long and I'm trying to wrap this thing up, but in the day and age that you and I live in, with everything falling to pieces, falling to pieces, we came back from Dayton yesterday, I stopped at two different rest areas, the atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I'm going, my soul, people looking at each other with or without a mask and so forth and so on. And I'm going, man, I can feel the tension. The thing's ramping up. But there's some choices when you come out of Moab. And the first one is you got to check your motive. Why are you doing what you're doing? Do you love Jesus Christ? choice you have this morning. You can either return to your mother's house or you can find rest in the house of your husband. Look at verses 8 and 9. Verses 8 and 9. Choices you make. In Ruth chapter 1 verse 8 and 9 you see Naomi, she gives the ultimatum. She says, And Naomi said unto her daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. Then she turns right around and she says the opposite. Of course we saw Orpah went to her mother's house and Ruth went to the house of her husband and found rest. Your mother's house represents your flesh. The house of your husband represents your spirit. You want rest as a child of God? You know who you're going to have to yoke up with? The house of your husband. You say, this is weird, preacher. Yeah, but you're part of the body of Christ, aren't you? You're one with him. You're bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Then you're going to have to yoke up with Jesus Christ. You can't yoke up with your mother's house. You have to yoke up with Jesus Christ. That's the place you find rest. Matthew 11, 28 says, Come unto me, Jesus Christ, saying this, and all you that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. You don't have a choice right now with the present situation going on in our country. You can blow this popsicle stand right here and go yoke up with your mother's house, figuratively speaking, or you can say, I'm yoking up with Jesus Christ. And just because I'm not guaranteed that my job will be here tomorrow, I'm not guaranteed that my 401K will be worth squat or a grapefruit in 10 years, I'm not guaranteed that anything's going to be the way it was, I'm not even guaranteed that I can go to Lucky's anymore. That's a steakhouse for civilians that didn't know that. You need to choose to yoke up with Jesus Christ. Why? Because that's where you find rest. You got a choice to make this morning. You can go out here and go, stinking virus, stinking governor, don't even show me the recall. I don't want to see it. I don't care about it. Don't even bring it to me. I like the thing on fire. Why? This world is not my home. I'm just passing through. Well, they're taking away our rights. They've been taking away our rights for millennium. You're going to go back to mama, are you? Or are you going to go after the house of your husband? Go on back to mama. No, I think I'll go after Jesus Christ. That's a decision you can make right now. You can get tore up. You can get all out of whack and out of joint with everything going on and get derailed, get sidetracked. I didn't say it wasn't going to be uncomfortable. Or you can just say, no, that's mama's house. And, you know, once you leave mama's house, you can never go back. It ain't never the same. You can go back for biscuits and gravy every once in a while, but it ain't never the same. I left out, went to college, came back, and I couldn't stay very long. You've got a choice this morning. Trying to get you to think. Lastly, can I say you have a choice concerning your mannerisms? Look in verse 8 of Ruth chapter 1. It's interesting to me that Naomi mentions kindness, yet in verse 20 Naomi reveals her what? Bitterness. Verse 21 says, "...she went out full, whereas the Lord was blamed for emptying her." Can I say today, finally, in closing, you have a choice in your mannerisms. You have a choice in your mannerisms. You can choose to be kind to others around you as you come out of Moab, or you can go ahead and blame God for slapping you around and be bitter about the whole process. Did you pick that up? Naomi's coming out of Moab and she's bitter. She's blaming God the whole way. She took my husband, or he took my husband, he took my boy, he took my other boy, took my 401k, took everything I had, took all my Tupperware, even my microwave. All gone! I went out full and now I'm empty! Okay. You got a choice today. You're coming out of Moab to be in fellowship with Jesus Christ. You got a choice. You can be bitter about the thing or you can just go ahead and deal kindly with people that come in contact with you. Well, they don't look at it the way I do. Maybe they got sense. I don't know. You got a choice this morning. How's your motives? The choice has to do with your motives. Are you in it for yourself or you love Jesus Christ? Are you going to go back to mama's house or are you going to go after your husband's house, the Lord Jesus Christ? And finally, your mannerisms. Are you going to deal kindly with those around you? Well, I ain't wearing no mask. You're an idiot. I don't care what you say. You're an idiot. You can worship Jesus Christ. You can read your Bible. You can pray. You just want to follow the law of the land. Help yourself. Well, it's my right. Sure is your right. But do you really want to go back to Mama's house and tip over and straighten up all the pictures in Mama's house? Yeah, I can feel it. Ain't no preacher going to tell me what to do. That's right. Take your patriotism and ride to town on that thing. The test has been made this morning. Do you want out of Moab? If you're going to get out of Moab, your motives have to be tested. Where you live has to be tested. Your mannerisms have to be tested, but you've got to make a choice. And Christian, your supreme affection determines all your decisions in life. As Naomi tests Ruth and Orpah and talks about how they have been to her throughout the grieving process, Naomi's mannerisms are eventually manifested. She's getting right in verses 8 to 20, but just like God will measure your motives before you can leave Moab, and God will manifest your mannerisms before the day is through. Naomi says, call me not Naomi in verse 20, call me Mara, for the Almighty have dealt very bitterly with me. So we know that Naomi's getting right, but you know what I see here in verses 20 to 22? Naomi's bitter about it. She's bitter about coming out. She didn't really want to come out. A lot of Christians, they want to do right, but they really don't want to come out of what they're doing. And the Lord is the one that did it to her. Look at verses 20 and 21. These are the mannerisms of Christians. Verse 20, bitterness. 21, empty. 21, a bad testimony. 21, afflicted. You know what they say in hee-haw? Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep, dark depression, excessive misery. Man, you'd think a Baptist wrote that thing. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. That's a Christian trying to come out of Moab. That's Naomi. Call me no more. Naomi meant pleasant. It meant beautiful. But she's bitter. I'm just saying this morning, and I've gone too far, and I've already made a bunch of you mad, I know, with the whole mask thing. But you have a choice. You can either deal kindly with those around you, or you can be bitter about it. Can I say, you will never change what the Lord is gonna do in this country right now. You will never change it. But you can get close to Him. You can enjoy that fellowship and the communion. So when the fur is hitting the fan, You and Him are like that. Let's have our heads bowed and our eyes closed this morning. Organists are going to come to the piano. Coming out of Moab, it's a process. If you're going to do right, the Lord wants to see why you want to do right. Maybe you're here this morning, you just want to talk to the Lord, you don't understand everything. Like, Lord, I don't know why He gave us that preacher. He sure makes a mess of a lot of things. Maybe you just need to look at your motives this morning for why you do what you do.