2024.07.28 - Looking To Heaven

2024.07.28 - Looking To Heaven 

Saturday, July 27, 2024

8:32 PM

1. 1. Intro - Ruth 

1. a. We have started a sermon series on The Book of Ruth.

1. i. We see their entire lives played out in four short chapters, we cannot see the end but God does - (I could feel your broken heart when I was writing my notes)

1. ii. There will come a day when you  will see the entire picture and the things right now that don’t make sense will make sense then

1. 1. Will you still trust Him 

1. a. When it doesn’t make sense?

1. b. When it hurts?

1. c. When you are all alone and abandoned by church, family and friends?

1. 2. Rooted

1. a. Genesis 26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. KJV

1. i. The enemy wants to fill up your wells and stop your flow of anointing. 

1. 1. Beer-sheba - well of an oath 

1. a. God has made you promises, and He will keep His Word

1. b. Rehoboth - broad places - streets

1. i. Streets of gold is where we will walk!

1. c. Esek - quarrel - I must earnestly contend for the faith

1. b. Psalms 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. KJV

1. i. You cannot cut off my flow, my anointing - the joy of The Lord is my strength 

1. 3. Looking Ahead

1. a. Sometimes we cannot see far enough "into the future" to grab a hold of Heaven bc we are busy looking behind us at the Cross to make sure we are still saved . . . we must be "confident of this one thing" that what He started in me he will finish 

1. i. Lemme ask you a question - do you spend more time thinking about Heaven or more time trying to stay saved?

1. ii. Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: KJV

1. 4. I Will Trust 

1. a. Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. KJV

1. i. The longer I walk the less I need to look at the ground, my very nature and gift of sight causes me to not look at where I am at but where I am going !!!

1. ii. Trust God - take Him at His word event when we don’t understand (D.W.)

1. 5. Convinced

1. a. 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen , nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. KJV

1. i. Series of events have been set in order since before time began to bless your life and bring you to an expected end - just like those in The Book of Ruth - God has a plan for you 

1. ii. We have not convinced ourselves thoroughly that Heaven will be better than what we are leaving behind so we move slowly forward while ever looking back

1. 1. Remember Lot’s wife what’s in front you is beyond your imagination Got what u wanted and weren’t satisfied - things here can’t satisfy. 

 

1. b. Bypass barrenness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2024.07.24 - Ruth

Ruth Introduction

 

     I.         Location In The Bible 

a.     Located between the Book of Judges and 1^st Samuel.

b.     Judges was a time of spiritual failure and was about to be turned around to a point by Samuel. 

    II.         Judges

a.     Judges opens with the death of Joshua & Israel facing war with the Canaanites

b.     Judges is a picture of one failure after another 

                                               i.         Conquered by Mesopotamia – delivered by Othniel

                                             ii.         Conquered by Moabites – delivered by Ehud & Shamgar

                                           iii.         Conquered by Canaan – delivered by Deborah & Barak 

                                            iv.         Conquered by Midian – delivered by Gideon

                                             v.         Civil war  - delivered by Abimelech

                                            vi.         Conquered by Philistines & Ammonites – delivered by several judges  

                                          vii.         Conquered by Philistines – Delivered partially by Samson

                                        viii.         Judges is basically a book of the failure of Israel to keep the moral spiritual standards set forth by Moses and Joshua.

c.     Judges is a picture of religious apostasy

                                               i.         When Israel would fall away from the Lord, He would send oppression to the people.

                                             ii.         Depending on who was leading in Egypt, there seemed to be times of "rest" for the people of God, but when evil leaders would reign “rest” would cease

                                           iii.         After the middle of the 12th Century, there were for a time no more periods of “rest” due to the continued apostasy of the people of God. They were spiritually faltering.

d.     Judges is a picture of  political anarchy

                                               i.         Israel failed also to conquer Canaan – falling instead into the idolatry of the people of the land and falling farther away from their God.

e.     The Book of Judges covers a time from the death of Joshua to Samuel, Israel’s last judge, around 300 years.

f.      Judges closes out with a very sad statement on the affairs of the People of God, which is why Ruth closes out with such hope: THERE WILL BE A KING!(in spite of all that was going on, God would indeed keep His promise and a King was coming)

                                               i.         Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. KJV

                                             ii.         Ruth 4:17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, 19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, 20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, 21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, 22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. KJV

 

 III.         1 Samuel 

a.     1 Samuel is a book of history centered around Israel’s last judge, Samuel

                                               i.         Samuel was not only a judge, but a priest and a prophet

b.     The focus of 1 Samuel is 

                                               i.         Israel’s cry for a king - Israel’s rejection of God as their King

                                             ii.         Focus on God’s faithfulness to His people even after they rejected Him

                                           iii.         Focus on God’s grace & His Sovereignty

c.     David comes on the scene and is anointed even though Saul is in power - the Promise of something  better 

                                               i.         David is a type/shadow of Christ

                                               i.         David is raise up from obscurity - so was Jesus

                                             ii.         David faced down "giants" – Jesus faced down Satan in the wilderness

                                           iii.         David was anointed king before he actually took the throne - so was Jesus 

                                            iv.         David was a man after God's own heart - Jesus was the beloved Son in Whom God was well pleased 

                                             v.         David was willing to kill for his bride - Jesus was willing to die for His

                                            vi.         David's son died - Jesus died and rose again

                                          vii.         David - had son that betrayed him - Jesus was the faithful Son 

b.     Saul is a type/shadow of Satan 

                                               i.         Jealous of David/Satan was jealous of Gods power/Christ

                                             ii.         Neither were happy with the power they were given and abused it

                                           iii.         Both were at one time the anointed of God (Ezekiel 28:14 & I Samuel 15:1)

                                            iv.         Both came against the anointed of God 

                                             v.         Both had their authority ripped from them violently by God

                                            vi.         Overcame by a "familiar" sword 

 IV.         Ruth 

a.     Shows partial genealogy of Christ

b.     The Book of Ruth was read at the Feast of Pentecost

c.     Showed forth God’s grace not only to Jews, but to Gentiles as well

                                               i.         1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. KJV

d.     Ruth is a historical book that parallels other times in history recorded in The Bible 

                                               i.         The famine 

                                             ii.         Possibly from the events of Judges 6:3-6.

1.     Judges 6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; 4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. 5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. 6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. KJV

e.     Time of great spiritual darkness. God shows forth His faithfulness in spite of the faithlessness of His people

                                               i.         In a time of famine and desperation the plan of God was working through mankind in order to bring forth a Savior

                                             ii.         Old Testament reflection of Romans 8:23 in that no matter what is going on with us or around us God has a plan and his plan is always for our God and His Glory. 

1.      God used what was happening to bless Ruth as well as fulfil prophecy regarding Jesus

2.     The whole story is a continuation of blessing for Rahab being kind to the spies in the land – Rahab the harlot was the mother to Boaz!

f.      Authorship

                                               i.         Uknown, possibly Samuel 

a.      General Points 

a.     Show us Jesus, show us the character of the Faithful God.

b.     Show us customs of the time.

c.     Show us God has a plan far larger than most can imagine. 

a.     To show us to look beyond the present and the  past to the future and see the nature of God a work in the lives of His people – God has a plan and His plan WILL come to pass.

d.     Show us the great lengths that God will go to in order to keep His promises.

a.     Some prophecies/promises fulfilled are: 

a.     prophecies about Jesus

a.     He will come from the lineage of David

b.     The promise of the spies to protect Rahab and her family 

a.     When we speak and are anointed by God, there is power in our promise

e.     Shows us that God calls great things out of obscure places

f.      Shows us that God is working in dire circumstances - lives of Rahab and Boaz happening at the same time as the family of Naomi.

g.     Types and shadows –

a.     Boaz – Jesus

a.     Both had a parent that was of little known or ill lineage

b.     Both had a parent that was of royal lineage

c.     Boaz mom was a harlot - Jesus mom was the virgin Mary 

d.     Boaz grew wheat that was made into bread - Jesus was The Bread of Life

e.     In Ruth 2:14 Boaz invites Ruth to bread – Jesus offers Himself as bread

a.     Jesus offers breads to the discipleship

b.     Both had relationships that grew “breaking bread”

f.      Ruth goes to Boaz in the night and is welcomed/accepted

a.     Nicodemus goes to Jesus in the night and is accepted

b.     All who come to Jesus come from “dark” to “light” and are accepted

c.     Picture of the holy of holies, going past the outer court of familiarity to intimacy

d.     Neither married young

e.     Both took wives of "foreign countries" or "other than Jewish descent)

f.      Boaz was the kinsman redeemer and Jesus was the Redeemer of all His kinsman

g.     Boaz told his servants to protect Ruth - Jesus gave his angels charge over us 

h.     Boaz was willing to suffer financially to have his bride - Jesus gave all He had for His bride

i.      Boaz had future lineage that would sit on the throne - Jesus WAS that future lineage that now sits on the throne

b.     Ruth/Naomi/Orpah – The Church

a.     The Church 

a.     Just as with the church some went forward, some went forward farther and some returned to the old way of life

b.     Ruth represents the Church that believes in the future 

c.     Orpah represents the Church that is stuck in the past

d.     Naomi represent the Church that are stuck in the present 

b.     Each had different walks, different levels of faith and different levels of commitment

c.     One generation guided the next generation to go deeper and farther than they did 

d.     One generation of ministry birthed another generation of righteousness which in turn brought healing, blessing and prosperity to the first generation

h.     Law VS Grace

i.      Ruth is a story of –

a.     Love

b.     Loss

c.     Lineage

d.     Law

e.     Life

f.      Redemption

g.     Reproach

h.     Revival

i.      Purpose

j.      Plan of the Divine

k.     Passion

l.      Honesty

m.   Fidelity

n.     Faithfulness

j.      Serves as an example of a godly man and woman set forth as role models that can affect perpetual generations including their own.

   V.         Judges, Ruth, Samuel 

a.     Samuel and Judges are Books about nations and people groups, they cover many years, if not decades and centuries.  While the history of individual people are told, they are a bigger picture of what is happening in the plan of God.

b.     Ruth is looking closer at a smaller group of people over less time

c.     The story, in all three Books, is the same

                                               i.         God has a plan 

                                             ii.         God has and will have a people

                                           iii.         God has and will have a King

                                            iv.         God is Sovereign

                                             v.         God is Faithful when man is not 

                                            vi.         When people are close to God – there is blessing and peace, though life is not perfect

                                          vii.         God uses things the world throws away, He elevates the lowly and brings to prominence those in dark places or forgotten areas

                                        viii.         It is in reality all about Jesus

1.     In Judges Jesus is        

                                                                              i.         Deliverer (the actual Judges are types/shadows of Christ) from bondage, oppression, evil 

2.     In Ruth Jesus is

                                                                              i.         Boaz – 

                                                                                                     i.     type/shadow

                                                                                                   ii.     Kinsman Redeemer

                                                                                                 iii.     Wanted what others did not (the nearer kinsman did not choose to keep Ruth)

                                                                                                  iv.     Welcomed Ruth (all) who came to him

                                                                            ii.         Ruth – 

                                                                                                     i.     Faithful no matter what s

                                                                                                   ii.     Sticks closer than a brother

                                                                           iii.         The book is about adoption, redemption, grace

                                                                           iv.         The book lists  a partial genealogy of Christ

 

Introduction To Key People

 

 VI.         Elimilech

a.      God his king, my God is king, (notes on Judges & 1 Samuel, as if God put this story here to show us that no matter what the people, did, or what they wanted, He was still King, He is Sovereign)

                                               i.         OT:458 'Eliymelek (el-ee-meh'-lek); from OT:410 and OT:4428; God of (the) king; Elimelek, an Israelite: KJV - Elimelech. 

b.     He is related to Boaz

                                               i.         There is no recorded relationship between Boaz and Elimelech other than that they are related.

c.     He is from Bethlehem

                                               i.         Bethlehem means house of bread 

d.     From the tribe of Judah

                                               i.         Judah – means praise

VII.         Naomi 

a.     sweetness, beautiful, agreeable, pleasant

                                               i.         OT:5281ym!u(n* No`omiy (no-om-ee'); from OT:5278; pleasant; Noomi, an Israelitess: KJV - Naomi.

b.     Type and shadow of Israel

                                               i.         In that she is neither here nor there, cannot let go of the past and therefore has issues moving into the future 

VIII.         Mahlon

a.     sick, weak, grieved

                                               i.         OT:4248 /olj=m^ Machlown (makh-lone'); from OT:2470; sick; Machlon, an Israelite: KJV - Mahlon.

 IX.         Chilion

a.     pining, wasting away, done

                                               i.         OT:3630 /oyl=K! Kilyown (kil-yone'); a form of OT:3631; Kiljon, an Israelite: KJV - Chilion.

1.     OT:3631 /oyL*K! killayown (kil-law-yone'); from OT:3615; pining, destruction: -consumption, failing.

b.     Both sons name seemed to prophetic to the end time of their lives, afther leaving “bread” and “praise” they both became literally what their names implied.

c.     There is not record of their being ill before they left Bethlehem – Judah. 

   X.         Orpah

a.     to turn back, stiff neck

                                               i.         OT:6204hP*r=u* `Orpah (or-paw’); feminine of OT:6203; mane; Orpah, a Moabites: KJV – Orpah.    OT:6203 [r#u) `oreph (o-ref’); from OT:6202; the nape or back of the neck (as declining); hence, the back generally (whether literal or figurative): KJV – back ([stiff-] neck ([-ed).

 XI.         Ruth 

a.     something worth seeing, beautiful friend

                                               i.         OT:7327tWrRuwth (rooth); probably for OT:7468; friend; Ruth, a Moabitess: KJV – Ruth.

b.     Wife of Mahlon

c.     Stuck by her husband, “in sickness and in health” “till death do us part”

d.     “redeemed” in her greatest hour of sorrow

e.     Shows that God sees our faithfulness

f.      Shows us that the “birthing pangs” of adversity can produce great things.

g.     Ruth is a type and shadow of Jesus Christ

XII.         Boaz 

a.     nimble, strength

                                               i.         OT:1162zu^B) Bo`az (bo'-az); from an unused root of uncertain meaning; Boaz, the ancestor of David; also the name of a pillar in front of the temple: -Boaz.

b.     Father – Salmon (clothing or raiment) (from the idea to cover assuming the shape of the item beneath)

                                               i.         Salmon is a shadow/type of Christ

1.     Salmon married a “sinning wife” and made her royalty

2.     Christ made sinners royalty then made us His Bride 

                                             ii.         Salmon’s name points to the time when we are filled w/ the Holy Ghost and "take the shape of what lies beneath"

c.     Possible the same Salma as  1 Chronicles 2:51 Salma the father of Bethlehem KJV which would mean that he was possibly either the founder or a very chief person in Bethlehem

d.     Son of Rachab – a harlot

                                               i.         !!!!!!

                                             ii.         In the lineage of Christ found in Matthew 1

e.     Married into essentially royalty, Nahshon was the leader of the Tribe of Judah and commander of their army

 

 

 

Genealogy - Definition of Names

·       Pharez – breech, division

·       Hezron – enclosed, dart of joy

·       Amminadab – people of the prince

·       Ram - high, rise up or raise, up 

·       Nahshon – learn by experience, enchanter, whispering 

·       Salmon – garment, cover take shape of that underneath

·       Boaz – strength, fleeting, quickness

·       Obed – worshiper, servant

·       Jesse – gift from God, one who is

·       David – beloved

·       If you read this backwards . . . “(the)Beloved Gift from God is The Worshiping Servant in strength and quickness (takes)0 the shape of a man (who)  comes whispering/teaching Rise up people of The Prince (He has/you will) enclosed the breach/division

·      

Neighbors

·       the power of the voice, the neighbors actually named Obed

·       Obed – son of Ruth