Sunday, August 23, 2020: The Book Of Ruth ~ Series: MERCIES IN THE SHADOWS ~ Message: Providence in Waiting ~ Scripture: Ruth 3:8–18 ESV ~ Pastor Philip Miller
“Is this our new home?” “No, son, not this one... not yet.”
One day we will be home. Truly home. It will be the home we have been looking for all our lives, though we will not know it till we arrive. Then we will finally belong, rest, and settle in knowing we shall never be moved again. But until then, it is one temporary arrangement after another.
It occurs to me that our journey right now is something of a parable. The Bible tells us that we who follow Christ are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) whose “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Although we reside here on earth, this is merely our temporary arrangement. Our true home lies beyond. The writer to Hebrews describes the “strangers and exiles on the earth” who live by faith as those who “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13–16).
Moving involves displacement, uprooting, transience, and sojourning. It’s uncomfortable and unsettling. Having sailed away from one firm shore and now looking toward another in faith, it is an unmoored existence. It is life, neither here nor there, but “on the way.”
A month ago we closed on our house in Olympia and, as my children explained it to our friends, we became “homeless.” We quickly taught them a better way to describe our time “between homes,” but in many ways that’s how we’ve felt these last weeks. We’ve stayed in several rental homes, a couple hotels, a cabin, a tent (on purpose!), a friend’s home, and will soon move into our temporary rental for the next few months as our townhome is renovated. At each new location Jude asks, as only a three-year-old boy can, “Is this my new home?” “No, son, not this one... not yet.”
Pastor Philip
Scripture Reading from Psalm 37
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
37 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
2
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
7
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11
But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
12
The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him,
13
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
14
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose way is upright;
15
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
16
Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18
The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19
they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20
But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21
The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives;
22
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23
The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand.
25
I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
26
He is ever lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27
Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
28
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29
The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
30
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31
The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.
32
The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33
The Lord will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34
Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
35
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
36
But he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37
Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
38
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
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Message: Providence in Waiting
Sunday, August 23, 2020
The Book Of Ruth
Series: MERCIES IN THE SHADOWS
Message: Providence in Waiting
Scripture: Ruth 3:8–18 ESV
Pastor Philip Miller
SERMON NOTES
Sunday, August 23, 2020
The Book Of Ruth
Series: MERCIES IN THE SHADOWS
Message: Providence in Waiting
Scripture: Ruth 3:8–18 ESV
Pastor Philip Miller
1. Ruth does the right thing in asking Boaz for marriage,
even when it raised the stakes of being rejected.
2. Boaz does the right thing in honoring Ruth as a daughter,
even when temptation was so readily available.
3. They both do the right thing in honoring this next-of-kin,
even when it threatened their hope and happiness.
4. All three do the right thing in waiting on God,
even when being still and surrendered is hard.
Takeaway: Do the right thing, even when it’s tough.
Scripture: Ruth 3:8–18 ESV
Ruth 3 ESV
Audio: Ruth 3 ESV
8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”