Amen, thank you, you may be seated. Now I wanna reiterate this morning that we read the scriptures out loud many times and it's not a religious activity. Although it is an activity, I want you to realize, and I think many of you know this, the reason we read the scriptures out loud, because the Lord Jesus Christ himself said, you're clean through the word, which I've spoken you. So not only is it good to read the scriptures out loud because it's good practice, amen? So, I mean, I felt like we were kind of spot on this morning with the reading, like the grammar part, and for the most part, the punctuation and the pronunciation. Sometimes you get to that and you're like, yeah, okay, whatever, Bob, George, Fred, Tom, and all the rest. But you're clean. It's a cleansing process. Nothing wrong, any way you can get the Bible in your eyes, in your ears or however, it's just good because Jesus Christ said, ye are clean through the word which I have spoken. I've never heard someone guilty of reading too much Bible or speaking too much Bible or hearing too much Bible. And you might have such a busy schedule that does not lend itself that you can be disciplined to sit down for a long period of time. but can I just encourage you to get the Bible in you any way you can. Anyway you can, yes, there's more you're gonna glean from reading a book. We are in the digital age, no doubt about it, all right? Everything is digital, we no longer speak, we're in the house and we text one room over. And then we don't text half the time, we send a meme or an emoji. We're that digital age, aren't we? Everyone's looking at me like, oh, come on, but that is who we are. But now there's something to be gained by actually reading the Bible. So I'll say this, get it in you any way you can, but there is much more to be gained when you see it on the pages itself. Now, if you have an iPad and you read the Bible, I'm not, many times I'll study because I can make the font really big. And that's helpful to me. I don't know, I just easier on the eyes sometimes. And then I make notes and then I forget the notes because they're not in my body. You know what I'm saying? But I just wanted to just clarify this morning before we get into the message this morning, the reason we read. It's not a Lutheran exercise. It's not a Methodist. It's not a Catholic exercise. It's just you're clean through the word which I've spoken. It's just good. It's just healthy. It's like soap and water. Amen. I mean, you believe in taking showers, that's a good thing. You got to convince the younger ones to do it sometime, but it's just really good. This morning, I want to fix our eyes. Before we get into the message this morning, I want to give you this statement that the will of God is always found on the pathway to duty. The will of God will always be found on the pathway to duty. And as we kind of recap what we've gone through so far, with Ruth chapter one, we see the failing, the falling, and the falling out of a limlax family and all that. What a mess that is. Many times in the Christian life, we step out of fellowship with Jesus Christ, a lot of messes ensue, don't they? I mean, it's just, you know, they sang about calm the storm. If we're to be honest, this morning, many of our homes, there's a storm in our homes. In our marriages, there's a storm in our marriage. And many times, it's not because of some ungodly, some awful, some wicked sin. It's just because for a brief period of time, we stepped away from fellowshipping with Jesus Christ as we should. And of course, a lot of preachers would love to put you down there and they'd like to put the cross on top and all the way to the world. And yes, sin is wicked and sin is wrong. But a lot of times you just need to tweak a couple things in your Christian life to get things back where they need to be. We've used this example before. Anybody who owns a computer or a smartphone know that every once in a while it's good when it's not acting right just to restart the thing. Just pause, you'll get the 15 seconds back later, and it'll save you from cussing it out, and then have to repent about the cussing, amen? But it's just good every now and then just to pause. Go ahead, restart. Yes, I want to restart it. Yes, I said yes. And then you restart it, and then it behaves and acts right. So many times in our Christian life, you don't have to gut everything continually, like businesses do, right? Right, Brother Charlie? I mean, when businesses, a new leader gets on the scene, they want to change everything. In your Christian life, that is dangerous to always perform autopsies on what God has done in your life, when all you might need to do is take a step back, look at the bigger picture and say, okay, I guess we're not spending as much time as we should. But we see Elimelech, Elimelech's dead, Malon's dead, Chilion's dead, and Naomi's getting right with God in the passage. And now Ruth, she's converted, praise the Lord, she's now converted to the Jehovah God. She got the right God. The interesting I see today as we attempt, this is an attempt to get into chapter 2. You say, why? I'm not sure what's along the way. We're on our way to church this morning. We come around a sharp curve over by Long Lake and lo and behold, there's one of those famous dead ash trees splattered and scattered all over the road. So I just do a little bit off-roading and we're good. Amen? A lot of times when we do the preaching or we attempt to do the preaching, there's things that we have to maneuver around a long way. So I want to bring this to your attention. So Naomi, she's getting right with the Lord. It's going to take a little bit of time, isn't it? You can get into fellowship with God like that, but the road that lies ahead, many times it takes just a little bit to get going where you used to be going. Does that make sense to you this morning? I want to draw your attention to Ruth chapter 1 and verse 22. You see, Naomi is getting right with God, but I want you to notice the first thing that she sees when she comes back to Judah, the house of God. She comes back to the place where she can praise God again. You notice what shows up in verse 22. What I'm trying to get you to think this morning as a Christian, when you're coming back into fellowship with Jesus Christ, many times we get discouraged because of things that come our way. And you'll say this, the moment I get right with God, things fall apart. The moment I try to serve the Lord, the moment I try to pray, the moment I make a decision to read my Bible, things begin to fall apart. If you said that, say amen, or if you thought something like that. Well, what's in verse 22? It's the harvest. Can I remind you in the Christian life that while we should be desirous of fellowship with God, we always gotta remember that when we step out of fellowship with God, the first thing we're most likely to see is results of what we sowed in the flesh. Now this is a spiritual application before I move into chapter two, but so many times I know that Christians are extremely discouraged because they wanna do right. And I wanna do right. But what happened is, for a while there, I didn't want to do right, and I really wanted to do what I wanted to do, and I sowed some things that I shouldn't have sowed. So now I finally want to do right, amen? And as I'm coming back to where God wants me to, I've got to face those things, and that's called the harvest. And many times what discourages a Christian is not the difficulty of the Christian life. It's the difficulty of looking at what we planted, and now we have to harvest it. Thank God for grace. Thank God for mercy. I ain't going to hell. Amen. But there might be a few things in the harvest that I have to face. Take your Bible for a minute before we get into the message. I promise I'm going to try to get into the message this morning. Lamentations chapter 3. And I want you to see what Israel said. The weeping prophet Jeremiah, he said in Lamentations chapter 3. One of the things that kicks Christians out of the race so many times is not the difficulty of the Christian life, but it's tripping over the harvest. Lamentations chapter three, that's Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. And I wanna try to encourage you this morning and give you just a couple thoughts before I believe we need to go where the Lord wants us to go. 339, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations is a small book, so if you come to Ezekiel, you've gone too far. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, chapter three, verse 39. The Bible says, wherefore doth a living man complain? A man for the punishment of his sins. Isn't that just where the chicken scratches? You ever come back, try to come back in a fellowship with God and just see, and you're like, yeah, I thought we were good, and the Lord's like, we are good, but I didn't plant that. I didn't, the Lord's trying to tell you, I didn't plant what you're facing. And just because you get right with God, Christian, can I remind you, it doesn't mean that all those troubles go away, because many times, as Galatians chapter six, and we'll see later, what we sow in the flesh, we end up reaping corruption. If you live a life to yourself that's narcissistic and self-centered, there's a good chance you'll have a difficult time talking with other people. There's a good chance you'll have a difficult time making friends. There's a good chance you're going to reap the harvest of not being able to socialize with other people. Is that a decent thing to come to conclusion? It's just a decent analogy. Well, I'm just, I'm an introvert. No, you're a self-centered brat. Stop it. Well, you know, I have this problem. Yeah, I know what your problem is. Many times as a Christian, your problem is just you. It's not your brother. It's not your sister or your mother. It's me, oh Lord, standing in need of prayer. I'm just saying, as we try to approach Ruth chapter two, we're staring at the beginning of the harvest. Now the harvest in the book of Ruth turns out to be a wonderful thing. It's seven weeks long, by the way. I had to Google that. Sorry. And when you find out how much Ruth was able to glean in one day, it was like almost 47 pounds of barley. So if you do the math, I hate it when people say do the math, because I hate math. But if you do the math, what's 47 pounds times 49 days? That's a whole bunch of food, amen? What a blessing. But I'm just saying besides the historical account, in our Christian life, is it not true that when we want to do right many times, not all the time, sometimes the Lord, he makes the crops fail. Thank God for that. Some of you have planted some things in your flesh along the way, and you're just thankful to God that that stuff never popped up. Amen. And if you're a man and you say, not me, not only are you a liar, but I'd be looking out. But I want to show you 1 Peter chapter 2 this morning as we're facing the harvest many times, trying to get into fellowship and stay in fellowship with God. And by the way, it's not difficult to be in fellowship with the Lord. I believe the struggle comes in maintaining that fellowship. You say, why preacher? Because many times the Lord will begin to bless you for being in fellowship and your heart is so deceitful and my heart is so wicked that all of a sudden now I think I'm the cause of all the things going right in my life. And the Lord has been so good to me because I have been in fellowship with Him and through a process of time I want more. Okay, just me, not you. All right, Lord, that was just for me. I shouldn't have preached that. Forgive me, Lord. That doesn't apply to anybody here. 1 Peter 2, verse 20. You say, well, what am I supposed to do when I face the harvest? Well, you could be like Absalom and set everyone's fields on fire, but that wouldn't be a good idea. 1 Peter 2, verse 20, can I just try to help you in these unsettling times? Peter says, for what glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your own faults? Is it safe to say that when we face a harvest that we plant in the flesh and now are beginning to reap what we planted, no matter what it is, wouldn't that be our own fault? I'm not talking about you're having a trial of your faith and you've had a good testimony for Jesus Christ and now you're facing things at the workplace. They're passing you over for promotion. They're talking bad about you. They're taking the magnets off your car and putting them at the top of the light pole or they're saying terrible things about you. That did happen by the way. I didn't go up and get it either. There's no way I could have. It was just like a scripture magnet at the top of the light pole for a long time. So that's a good witness. Everybody look at it now. But 1 Peter 2.20 says, For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take at what? Isn't that terrible? Patiently. But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is what? Acceptable with God. We're going to get there, but the harvest many times is facing us as Christians when we go back into fellowship with God. And many times, like in Lamentations 3, we complain about the harvest. We complain about the mess. My dad always said this, that's your bed, you made it, now you what? Yeah, you lay in it. And sometimes a harvest, that bed is no fun to lay in. Why? You made it. You're like, I know it's in there. And the more you're around it, you're like, man, but the answer to that thing as we look at brother Peter is what? Two things. You take it patiently and you realize you might have to suffer for it. That is, you realize that there's going to be some difficult days ahead. You realize that I planted some things in my flesh and the Lord's already forgiven me. He's like, I don't know what you're talking about. Oh yeah, that's the harvest, but I've already forgiven you, but you're going to have to face maybe a little bit of that down here. And not only do you take it patiently, but you don't lose your mind over the thing. You don't complain about it. But you're going to have to suffer maybe a little bit and put up with some things that maybe you wouldn't have had to put up with if you didn't harvest that or plant that stuff. The Bible then says this is what? Acceptable with God. God accepts it when you're going through some things, and you're looking at the harvest of fleshly things in your life, and you're having a difficult time, and you're being patient about it, because why? If you're to be honest with yourself, I deserve that. And I deserve, by the way, a whole lot more that I ain't getting. And the Lord looks down at you and go, I'll take that. So can I say as we approach chapter two, Naomi's going back to Judah and the first thing she encounters is what? The harvest. Well, like I said later, that turns out to be a blessing, but Christian, can I tell you, if you're striving to be in fellowship with God, that is a wonderful thing, that is the right thing, that is a proper thing. When the harvest of what you planted in your flesh comes up, can I just encourage, try not to complain about it. Be patient with what you're dealing with. Can I just say that this too shall pass. You're not gonna have to reap it forever. You're like, preacher, but it seems like a stinking eternity. Sure does. You might have to suffer for it. It might not be able to do some things you normally want to do, but you just go ahead and stop your complaining about the thing. Go ahead and take it patiently. Just be quiet about it and just say, Lord, thank you for not giving me exactly what I deserve. Because as this brother said, I'd be in hell. And God says, I'll take that. That is acceptable. God, if you look at Ruth chapter 2, 1 this morning, we've seen the tragedy of a limelight household. And we see at the end of chapter 1, the harvest. She's getting right. And we can't forget the harvest. But I want to talk this morning, I want to preach this morning about the pathway of duty. The pathway of duty. And as I said this morning, the will of God is always found on the pathway of duty. So all this stuff works out. We see the type and picture of a Christian stepping out of fellowship with Jesus Christ. Many things happening that are very unsavory. Then the Christian getting right with God, and then also Ruth, a picture of someone trusting Jesus Christ, or now converting. But now the pathway of duty is going to be found in the rest of this chapter. And I'll say it one more time, the pathway of duty, child of God, will only and always be found, I'm sorry, the will of God will only always be found to the pathway of duty. What I'm saying is you're not gonna be able to sit home and wonder what God wants you to do. You'll never find the will of God sitting on your can. I'm sorry, on your chair. That's more pastoral. You'll never find, you'll be like, I wonder what I should do for the Lord. And the Lord's like, yeah, I wonder what you should do. I ain't gonna tell you until you what? Engage the pathway of duty. I want you to see here in verse, Ruth chapter two, look at verse one. Now you understand that this is not Ruth's fault. I don't know if you can get into the mindset with me just for a minute that none of what has happened is Ruth's fault. She really has a wonderful spirit about her. I mean, it's pretty uncommon for many women to have the spirit that Ruth does. And that's not a kick, that's just reality. Ruth did not deserve this, but in chapter 2, verse 2, notice the first thing that Ruth says. Isn't that interesting? The first thing that Ruth does as soon as she comes back, the picture of her is converting to the Lord Jesus Christ. She wants to get after it. Isn't that interesting? I say that's interesting because if we're gonna spiritualize a thing, that does not represent modern-day Bible-believing Christianity. I'm not trying to be cruel when I say that. It's just the reality in which you and I live, and not a lot of people wanna truly get after it. So the first thing she wants to do is she wants, let me now go to the field. And of course, in the Gospels, we know, in Matthew, I think it's 13, 39, or something like that, the field is the world. So there's a nice application of scripture there. But can we back up just for a minute? I almost over... I just blew by this on the way to Walmart. Look at verse 1. I want you to see Boaz. Boaz is the real hero of the book of Ruth. He's the strong man. He's handsome, debonair, you know. He's got all the money in the world. Any eligible single gals? Anyways, but I see in Ruth chapter 2 verse 1, Boaz, he is truly the hero, a picture of Jesus Christ. Notice it says he's a what? A mighty man of wealth. I got to thinking about that for a minute. I said, well, isn't that interesting? Not only is he a mighty man of wealth, and of course I know he represents Jesus Christ in the passage, but he's of the same family that Elimelech is. And I got to thinking about Elimelech. I'm like, you bird, why did you leave Judah? Because of the famine. Elimelech got scared. And Elimelech chose to run away from problems. but I see that Boaz chose to stay. Can I just give you a spiritual application on this thing? When you stay and confront your problems instead of running for them, notice what the Bible says about Boaz, a mighty man of, I'm not preaching a name it and claim it gospel, but notice that Boaz chose to trust the Lord and ride out that famine, and the Lord blessed him for it, you see that? And Limlach chose to get out of Dodge, and he ended up dying. And that's something, same family, same famine, same area. What a blessing to know that if we put our trust in the Lord, we might not live how we want to, but he'll bring us through the famines. And I believe not only are we in a famine, like we say in Amos chapter eight, what is it, verse 11, a famine, a hearing of the words of the Lord, but we're in a financial famine coming soon. And I'm telling you, you can trust the Lord. I haven't seen too many skinny Baptists lately, amen? I'm telling you, the Lord will provide. You might have to go work, and you see the Lord's welfare program, if I could say it like that, is work. Is it okay to say that in a Bible-believing church? The Lord's welfare program is work. Because the first thing that Ruth does is what? She goes to work! Well, preacher, hold everything, put the brake on, pull the emergency brake, throw everything out, blow the transmission. I thought you said that it was supposed to be worship, and then walk, and then work. Yep, absolute truth. But can I remind you that the focal point of worship in your Christian life will always put you in front of this question, what wilt thou have me to do? If you miss that, you've missed the whole message this morning. The focal point of worship continues to be, what wilt thou have me to do? A lot of Christians, they want worship, but they don't want to know what God wants them to do. I want to preach just for a moment on the pathway to duty. Ruth says in verse 2, let me now go to the field and glean. She had a desire to work. And she says there in verse 2, she says, You know, with everything against her, she wasn't promised a husband, she wasn't promised that her bills would be paid, she wasn't even promised that she'd get food. So she goes back with her mother-in-law, she has nothing. And you know what she is? She's looking for grace. I think of a lot of Christians today that I've run into and talked to, their speech is not very graceful. Matter of fact, a lot of things that come out of their mouth are critical. A lot of things that come out of their mouth are depressing. They're down in the mouth. Ruth, she's looking for grace. She's like, I'm going to go work and someone will hopefully find grace in what I'm doing. How about you, Christian, this morning? When you woke up this morning, did you think about pleasing the Lord, finding grace in His eyes? Or were you just all of a sudden encumbered with all your problems? Your back hurt, your hip hurt, your hind end hurt, your side hurts, and you don't know how you're going to do what you're going to do. And Ruth gets up like, I need to go in the field. I need to go do something. I'm telling you, she's looking for the will of God in her life, and she's not sitting around waiting for it to happen. She's like, I need to go to work. I need to go do something that I know that should be done. We're not talking about going out and lighting this world on fire for Jesus Christ. Look, they needed to eat, right? So she's like, let me go glean. Let me go to the field. This is what I know I need to do. There are certain things today, Christian, that you just know you need to do. And I say, read the Bible is one of them. You just know it. And there's nobody in the church house today, unless you're a visitor, that doesn't know that you just need to read the Bible. So when I say the pathway of duty, that's one of those things you just know that you need to do it, but yet so many people don't. And then they wonder why they don't know what God wants them to do. The will of God is always found on the pathway of duty. She's looking to find grace. She had a determination to find grace. You know, she knew that she didn't deserve it. She's a Moabite. She's a stranger, she calls herself. But the pathway of duty, if you look in verse 7, I want you to notice that it doesn't fool around. And you and I, we're living in a generation of Christians that like to fool around. They like to play around. They like to do everything but what God really wants them to do. Look at verse 7, she said, I pray you let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. Ruth, although she was from Moab, she determined to make the best of it, and she stepped into action. She was aware of the time, she refused to be idle, and the time spent in the house, in verse seven, don't you notice an interesting phrasing of that word? She spent just a little time in the house. Isn't that interesting? I saw that, I said, well, that's kind of interesting, Lord. Can I say that you and I live in the great day and age where Christians desire handouts? Is that too politically incorrect this morning? Christians desire handouts. I'll say it again, Christians desire handouts. If I smile, does that make it better when I say it? Christians have not only been raised in a socialistic environment, a handout environment, but now can I remind you what many of you have been thinking for years and already know that that mindset has now crept into the church. Many Christians' mindset, and I'm no prophet, I'm a preacher, they come in here and they say, bless me if you can. They say, I wonder what he has for me today. See that? That's an entitlement philosophy. The church is a place where we gather. Forsake not the assembly of ourselves together as the manner of some men and so much more as you see the day approaching. I mean, we ought to get together more. But it's a struggle just to do what we can do, so we'll just try to maintain that, amen? But the fact is, is Ruth was not of that mentality, that handout mentality. Why this is difficult and why this is kind of like not flowing is because there's a whole lot of truth right now and you're trying to decipher whether it's the news media or God trying to give us a message this morning. We cannot do what we want to do for the Lord Jesus Christ if we have the mindset that we deserve a handout. This building that you're sitting in today was not built upon handouts. It was built off the backs of old men and old women and young men and young women that gave over the last 135 years. You say, well, I give. Well, praise the Lord for it. But if we come to the church house this morning and expect a handout, can I tell you, you're not going to find what God's wanting you to have. But Ruth wasn't like that. She wanted to get after. She wasn't fooling around. I guess what I'm trying to say this morning, I don't know if I'm getting anywhere close to it, but some Christians should be getting after it. I don't know, I don't have anybody in mind when I say this, but this is the message. Some Christians should be in the field. You know what the old timers would sing, bringing in the sheaves, right? Like, oh yeah, I remember seeing that in a little house in the prairie one time when, you know, Reverend Alden was in front, you know. Yeah, have you ever listened to that song? Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve, waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping. I started too high. We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Are you bringing in any sheaves? No, preacher? I guess I really don't understand. Take your Bible, go to Galatians chapter 6 this morning. I want to show you why many Christians can't bring in the sheaves today. And we're not just talking about bringing the lost to Jesus Christ, because that's a wonderful thing. And as a church, you need to pray. You have some people that have been attending lately, and some of them need the Lord. And the Lord's working on them. And the more he works on them, you're gonna see the devil work just as hard. But look in Galatians chapter six, verse eight this morning. I want you to see why many Christians can't bring in the sheaves. The Bible says, for he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap what? Corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit, what? Yeah, absolutely. Could it be, Christian, that many times we can't bring in the sheaves spiritually because we've been too busy on this side sowing to our flesh? doing what we think we need to get done. Look, there's a certain number of things that you have to do every day. Getting dressed is a good idea, amen? Unless you go to Walmart, you wear your pajamas still, just gotta have a mask, it's okay. But amen? But there are certain things that you have to do, right? But many times we spend our entire lives as Christians sowing to our flesh, running errands for a dead corpse, and we can't so spiritually, we can't get out there and do the things for God that we need to do. We can't get up in the morning and read our Bible. We can't get up in the morning and pray because we're so ingrained in our other fleshly activities that we've crowded it out. And now we're weeping corruption. We're seeing the harvest of what we've done in our own life. And yet we wanna be in fellowship with God and we get depressed. I'm just saying this morning that Ruth's like, you know what? I don't deserve anything, I'm a stranger, but I'm looking for grace. Christian, what if we got up tomorrow morning and said, Lord, I need some grace, and I believe you're going to show it to me, I'm just going to get after it. And I know this is what I always do, one, two, three, four, five in the morning, but this morning it's going to be you first. And then your flesh is like, oh, you need six cups of coffee first, and you're like, well, we'll work on that. I'm not telling you to do without coffee, amen? I like coffee, maybe a little too much. But the fact is, are you going to get after it? Ruth did. She said, let me glean, let me go to the field. Let me go to the field. But this mentality of our society has now permeated the walls of the church. Ruth has dedicated herself to the pathway of duty. She's got a desire for work to do the things that need to be done. Ruth looks at this harvest face to face. It's not her fault. Some of you might be facing a harvest that's not your fault. Somebody say amen. Some of you are harvesting things right now that really isn't your fault. Can I say this morning, if your children have gone wayward at some point in time, it is not your fault. Well, I remember as a parent, I didn't always do the things I should have. Your children have what's called a free will. Now, if you're continually an idiot, shame on you. Maybe it is your fault. But your children have a free will. Your grandchildren have a free will. They will break your ever-loving heart every time, won't they? Just like you did many times. But Ruth, she doesn't fool around. She gets after it. She's a hard worker. And she's looking at a harvest that's not her fault. She has something inside of her that we have to relearn and rethink. I'll say that again. Ruth has something inside of her that we, as independent Bible-leaving Baptists, have to relearn and rethink. And that's the mindset of, I have to get to work for the Lord. Not so busy that we're busier than that one-legged man in a kicking contest. I'm not saying that, but she knew what she needed to do. It wasn't, I've got to find some special ministry that accents my expertise, that showcases my intelligence, that utilizes all of my talents and ability. No, it's like, look, we need food. We got to go to Walmart. So get after it. She's like, let me go. Can you see it? Let me go. We have to relearn and rethink that mentality. Can I say this? We know the Lord's coming back and we pray this today, but what if it's not for 20 years? If we don't relearn and rethink this thing as a child of God at 21 South Chambers Road, Bible believers, Baptist church, there will be no church in 20 years. I don't care how much you love that King James Bible, if you don't teach your kids to work, if you don't teach your grandkids to work, and if you don't be the best example, there will be no church! I'm saying we have to relearn it. We have to rethink it. We can point our fingers and look at all them blokes out there. They're not doing it. They're not working. They're collecting off the government. And if you retired and you did your time, thank God for you. Amen? I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about you're healthy, but you won't work. We've got to relearn it. We've got to rethink it. The will of God is only found on the pathway of duty. That's why you'll never be able to establish a church in the inner city. You say that's terrible, that's truth. The church is established through the ties and love offerings of God's people. We must relearn it, we must rethink it. I'm not preaching politics, I'm preaching Bible. Ruth said, let me go. She didn't have to, she was facing a harvest that wasn't her, but her mind said, look, I gotta get something done here. We gotta eat. And the pathway of duty is, It's the proper place for every Christian. Not only is it proper, but can I say it's pleasing to the Lord. When you busy yourself with what God expects you to do, not busy yourself with none of your business, but when you busy yourself with what God expects you to do, like walk with Him and talk with Him and read the Bible and pray and be a testimony to others around you, that core group of things, We're not even talking like walking and chewing gum at the same time. But just those things that keep you in fellowship with Him. It's the proper place and it pleases the Lord. The Bible says in Revelation 4.11, For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are. and were created. It's good to be reminded, isn't it, that the reason you and I were created was so we could establish a great 401k and... No, no. If you got one, praise the Lord. I don't know how it's doing right now, but the reason you and I were created was for His pleasure only. Are you pleased in the Lord today? Can I tell you that if you're not on the pathway of duty, Doing the things that you know you should do that please the Lord, then you are not pleasing Him. It's proper, it's pleasing. And can I tell you, it establishes your purpose. Take your Bible, go real quick to Ephesians chapter 2 this morning. I can see right now I'll have to finish this message tonight. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10, a Christian on the pathway of duty has established his purpose. Do you realize this morning that God designed you to do certain things for him? We just read in Revelation chapter four that we are created for his pleasure. So your life could be summed up in this thing. When I wake up in the morning, my purpose is to what? Put a smile on his face. Plus whatever else you're supposed to do, but put a smile on his face first. Bible says in Ephesians chapter two, verse 10, it says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. And we are ordained what? Unto good works. Now, isn't it interesting that the verses preceding that Ephesians chapter two, verse eight and nine tells us that not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing and regeneration, renewing of the Holy Ghost. Isn't it interesting that we know, and we would say you're a heretic if you believed any other way, that good works do not save us, but isn't it interesting the moment of salvation, we realize that we are now his workmanship. and that we were created unto good works that he hath before ordained that we should walk in them. I'm saying Ruth realized after her conversion that she needed to get after it. The first thing she says when she hits the home front, her new home, her new environment is, let me go. Let me now go to the field. Didn't the Lord say that the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. There are literally people, souls, ready to be harvested in our community. But will we go? Will you go? It's not the message, but it's good preaching even if I have to do it. Can I say this morning there are a multitude of Christians today with no purpose. They believe their purpose is to get up and go to a secular job. which provides for them constant depression. I'm not after you if you're depressed this morning. Some preachers would be so audacious, and I will not go as long as I did last week, so everyone at ease. Yeah, okay, so we're gonna wrap it up here. But there are so many Christians that are constantly depressed, and not against you if you're depressed. I'm concerned for you. But when you don't engage yourself in the things that God wants you to, can I tell you, that creates depression many times. Sometimes there's a chemical imbalance and you've got to see a doctor and you've got to see the counselor. I understand that I'm for that. When Christians don't have a purpose, they become depressed. Have you met them? Constant turmoil, constant problems. Constant anger. Constant frustration. It's like, you know, you just want to go punch something. Like a wall, but don't, because then you've got to re-drywall it. I ain't no good at drywalling. Neither is Brother Mickey. Amen? Amen. But that's a Christian with no purpose. I love you, Brother Mickey. I probably shouldn't have said that. But I'm trying to put a little bit of sugar on what you and I know to be true. With no purpose, what does Proverbs say? Purposes are disappointed. With no purpose comes disappointment, but not Ruth. The odds were stacked against her. She faced a harvest that wasn't her fault, yet she willingly submitted herself to the pathway of duty. In verse 2, she volunteered for service and looks for grace. In verse 3, she begins to glean. You see that? She's going after it. She's getting it done. Verse 7, she stays after it. She works all day and doesn't spend all her time in the house. That's verse 7. Let's stop here in just a second here. A lot of Christians, can I say, the only time they spend around the Lord is in the house. I'll say it again, a lot of Christians, the only time they spend around the Lord is in the house. And while it's not a personal slap at your church attendance, can I get you to think outside the box for a moment? Ruth Terried, the Bible says, a little in the house. A little. It's good to be in the house, isn't it? It's the best place in the world. a little in the house. We've got four services a week, that's a little. In the grand scheme of things, that might total six hours a week, 24 hours a day times seven is how many? A lot more than six, amen? What's that? 168 hours in a week, six hours in the house. That'd be a little, right? Six hours versus 128 hours. Can I just say, a lot of Christians, the only time they spend with the Lord is in the house. But oh, how important it is to have those few moments in the house. I just want to get you to think this morning, Ruth was one to get after it. Can I remind you as we wrap this up this morning that the will of God will always only be found on the pathway to duty. This morning, Christian, if you're looking for the center of God's will, it will be found on the pathway to duty. Don't be afraid to get after it for Jesus Christ. Don't be afraid to do what you know is right to do. It might mean you have to set your fleshly agenda aside, but do what God wants you to do. Do the things that matter. Get into the field. The will of God is found on the pathway of dew. I have every head bow, every eye closed just for a moment this morning. If the Lord spoke unto you this morning, would you come talk to Him at this altar?