At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
Titus 3:3 (NIV)
2. I am rescued by God.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy…so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-5, 7 (NIV)
“If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.”
Philippians 3:4b-6
3. I am washed and renewed by the Holy Spirit.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:5-7 (NIV)
He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5 (NLT)
He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5 (Mess)
I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father. 5 So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.
2 John 1:4-6 (CSB)
1. I should never grow tired of love
So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
2 John 1:5 (CSB)
2. I should practice love in all my relationships
So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
2 John 1:5 (CSB)
This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12 (CSB)
3. I should express love by following Jesus’ commands
This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.
2 John 1:6 (CSB)
Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
1 John 5:13 (NLT)
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 13:34 (NIV)
4. I should make love a lifestyle
This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.
2 John 1:6 (CSB)
And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
Ephesians 5:2 (CSB)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
1. Come to Me (Relationship)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
2. Yield to Me (Partnership)
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV)
3. Learn from Me (Discipleship)
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV)
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” 46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered.
John 1:44-46 (CSB)
1. Never underestimate Jesus
Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some said, “Surely the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?”
John 7:41 (CSB)
“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And they took offense at him.
Matthew 13:55-57 (NIV)
2. Always see what God is doing
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” 46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered.
John 1:44-46 (CSB)
As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.
John 15:9 (CSB)
3. Always respond in faith
Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. 49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel!”
John 1:47-49 (CSB)
Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “Truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
John 1:50-51 (CSB)
Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, so the king planned to set him over the whole realm.
Daniel 6:3 (CSB)
2.INTEGRITY—Doing the right thing no matter thecost
The administrators and satraps, therefore, kept trying to find a charge against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they could find no charge or corruption, for he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”
Daniel 6:4-5 (CSB)
3.INTERCESSION—Bringing everyconcernto God inprayer
Therefore, Your Majesty, establish the edict and sign the document so that, as a law of the Medes and Persians, it is irrevocable and cannot be changed.” 9 So King Darius signed the written edict.10 When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God. 12 So they approached the king and asked about his edict: “Didn’t you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den?”
Daniel 6:8-12 (CSB)
4.INFLUENCE—Using theplatformGod gives me for good
Then King Darius wrote to those of every people, nation, and language who live on the whole earth: “May your prosperity abound. 26 I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel.
Daniel 6:25-26 (CSB)
…be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’ 31 You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practice every detestable act, which the Lord hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 Be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.
Deuteronomy 12:30-32 (CSB)
When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.
Ezra 9:3 (CSB)
1. THOSE WHO EXPEREINCE THE HAND OF GOD…
A. STUDY THE WORD OF GOD
He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was on him.
Ezra 6:6 (CSB)
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you…
Colossians 3:16 (CSB)
He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Ezra 7:9-10 (CSB)
He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Luke 11:28 (NIV)
B. SEEK THE HEART OF GOD
I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us, our dependents, and all our possessions. 22 I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.” 23 So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and he was receptive to our prayer.
Ezra 8:21-23 (CSB)
2. THE HAND OF GOD…
A. GIVES ME STRENGTH TO CARRY ON
Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s mind to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, 28 and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God, and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.
Ezra 7:27-28 (CSB)
We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God, and he kept us from the grasp of the enemy and from ambush along the way.
Ezra 8:31(CSB)
B. GIVES ME PASSION TO SERVE
…I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there. 16 Then I summoned the leaders…I sent them to Iddo, the leader…, with a message for him and his brothers, the temple servants…, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God. 18 Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight…along with his sons and brothers, 18 men, 19 plus Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. 20 There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites.
Ezra 8:15-20 (CSB)
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
James 5:17 (ESV)
And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:15 (ESV)
“From there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.”
Deuteronomy 4:29 (NLT)
2. Emboldened by righteousness
So keep on confessing your sins to one another and praying for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16 (ISV)
If you are a husband, you should be thoughtful of your wife. Treat her with honor, because she isn’t as strong as you are, and she shares with you in the gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.
1 Peter 3:7 (ESV)
But there is a problem—your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
Isaiah 59:2 (NLT)
We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he listens to anyone who worships and obeys him.
John 9:31 (NCV)
3. Inspired by power
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16b (ISV)
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:13 (ISV)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7 (NIV)
4. Cultivated by simplicity
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
James 5:17 (ESV)
5. Strengthened by persistence
Elijah was a man just like us, and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the ground for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and heaven sent rain, and the ground produced its crops.
James 5:16-18 (ISV)
Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out before You day and night.
Psalms 88:1 (HCSB)
At that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray, and he spent the night praying to God.
Luke 6:12 (NCV)
They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit.
Numbers 13:27 (CSB)
When your outnumbered stop…
1. Looking at your obstacles
However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there.
Numbers 13:28 (CSB)
2. Listening to the majority
But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
Numbers 13:31-33 (CSB)
GOD IS FOR ME
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31 (ESV)
GOD IS IN ME
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 (ESV)
GOD IS WITH ME
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
Psalm 118:6 (NIV)
3. Living in the past
Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Numbers 14:1-4 (CSB)
Afterward he was on his way to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him. 12 Just as he neared the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town was also with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don’t weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Then fear came over everyone, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.” 17 This report about him went throughout Judea and all the vicinity.
Luke 7:11-17 (CSB)
Keep Getting Up Because…
1. Jesus Is Full of Compassion
Afterward he was on his way to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him. 12 Just as he neared the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town was also with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Don’t cry.”
Luke 7:11-13 (CSB)
Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.”
Mark 1:40-41 (CSB)
2. Jesus Is Full of Assurances
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don’t weep.”
Luke 7:13 (CSB)
WE HAVE MANY ASSURANCES
Assurances We Are Never Alone Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)
Assurances of Answered Prayer If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:11 (CSB)
Assurance of Spiritual Guidance For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.
Romans 8:14 (CSB)
3. Jesus Is Full of Power
Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!”15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Luke 7:14-15 (CSB)
Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus says the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens: 8 I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close.
Revelation 3:7 (CSB)
You were made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Ephesians 2:1 (NASB)
4. Jesus Is Full of Help
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Luke 7:16-17 (NIV)
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 (CSB)
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 14:12-13 (NIV)
“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Luke 14:21-23 (NIV)
2. EXPECTATION – UNDERSTAND NOT EVERYONE WILL ATTEND
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
Luke 14:15-20 (NIV)
3. CELEBRATION – THOSE WHO COME WILL BE GLAD THEY DID
I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
Luke 14:24 (NIV)
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:7 (NIV)
Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Matthew 9:35-38 (HCSB)
Reaching People is…
1) Motivated by Compassion
When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36 (HCSB)
2) Driven by Prayer
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)
3) Accomplished by Work
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Matthew 9:38 (NIV)
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:18-19 (NIV)
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Hebrews 11:4 (NIV)
1. My Faith Honors The Lord
Honor the Lord with your wealth…
Proverbs 3:9 (NIV)
2. My Faith Helps Me Rethink My Priorities
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.
Proverbs 3:9 (NIV)
Now if the firstfruits offered up are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Romans 11:16 (CSB)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:21 (CSB)
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Malachi 3:8-9 (NIV)
3. My Faith Hastens God’s Blessings
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV)
The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.
2 Corinthians 9:6 (CSB)
“…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38 (ESV)
“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21 (HCSB)
2. What is your focus?
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23 (HCSB)
You do not have because you do not ask.
James 4:2 (CSB)
Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?
Matthew 6:26 (CSB)
I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Psalm 81:10 (CSB)
And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:19 (CSB)
3. Who is your master?
“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.
Matthew 6:24 (HCSB)
Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had —all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41-44 (CSB)
Meta Faith…
1. Stretches Me
Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
Mark 12:41-42 (CSB)
The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.
1 Timothy 5:5 (NIV)
2. Motivates Me
Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
Mark 12:41-42 (CSB)
3. Inspires Me
Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had —all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:43-44 (CSB)
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
Ruth 1:16 (NIV)
2) Community Choices
With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Ruth 1:7 (NIV)
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
Ruth 2:1 (NIV)
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Ruth 4:13 (NIV)
3) Family Choices
…both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:5 (NIV)
Who are you?” he asked.“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”
Ruth 3:9 (NIV)
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Ruth 4:13 (NIV)
4) Attitude Choices
“…My daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
Ruth 1:12-13 (NIV)
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.
Ruth 1:20-21 (NIV)
He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him.17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth 4:15-17 (NIV)
This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, 20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon the father of Boaz,Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
Ruth 4:18-22 (NIV)
Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find rest for you, so that you will be taken care of? 2 Now isn’t Boaz our relative? Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”5 So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.”
Ruth 3:1-5 (CSB)
Yield to obey each other because you respect Christ.
Ephesians 5:21
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 (NIV)
“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends .”
John 15:12-13 (CSB)
2. Bold
At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! 9 So he asked, “Who are you?” “I am Ruth, your servant,” she replied. “Take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer.”
Ruth 1:8-9 (CSB)
3. Generous
She went to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who asked her, “What happened, my daughter?” Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
Ruth 3:16-17 (CSB)
4. Loyal
Boaz replied: The LORD bless you! This shows how truly loyal you are to your family. You could have looked for a younger man, either rich or poor, but you didn’t.
Ruth 3:10 (CEV)
5. Protective
But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lie down until morning.”14 So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark. Then Boaz said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
Ruth 3:13-14 (CSB)
For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.
1 Peter 1:18-19 (CSB)
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants.
Ruth 2:8 (CSB)
GRACE SHOWS UP AT UNEXPECTED TIMES GRACE SHOWS UP IN UNUSUAL PLACES
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10 (CSB)
2. Grace Protects Me
See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”10 She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?”
Ruth 2:9-10 (CSB)
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (CSB)
God has revealed his grace to save the whole human race.
Titus 2:11 (NJB)
3. Grace Blesses Me
At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over…She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her.
Ruth 2:14;18 (CSB)
So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family that I can show the kindness of God to?” …So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table just like one of the king’s sons.
2 Samuel 9:3;11 (CSB)
4. Grace Uplifts Me
She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?”11 Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
Ruth 2:10-12 (CSB)
5. Grace Favors Me
Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
Ruth 2:13 (CSB)
During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.
Ruth 1:1 (CSB)
Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons.
Ruth 1:3 (CSB)
Both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
Ruth 1:5 (CSB)
Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons.
Ruth 1:12 (CSB)
She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.
Ruth 1:6 (CSB)
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
Ruth 1:17 (CSB)
Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth 4:16-17 (CSB)
I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13 (AMP)
2. I can return to the Lord when I’m questioning
She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.
Ruth 1:6 (CSB)
3. I can embrace personal faith when I’m struggling
Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.” But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Ruth 1:15-16 (CSB)
One day Gideon’s son Abimelech went to Shechem to visit his uncles—his mother’s brothers. He said to them and to the rest of his mother’s family, 2 “Ask the leading citizens of Shechem whether they want to be ruled by all seventy of Gideon’s sons or by one man. And remember that I am your own flesh and blood!”3 So Abimelech’s uncles gave his message to all the citizens of Shechem on his behalf. And after listening to this proposal, the people of Shechem decided in favor of Abimelech because he was their relative. 4 They gave him seventy silver coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless troublemakers who agreed to follow him. 5 He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half brothers, the sons of Gideon. But the youngest brother, Jotham, escaped and hid.6 Then all the leading citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak beside the pillar at Shechem and made Abimelech their king.
Judges 9:1-6 (NLT)
Then Jotham escaped and lived in Beer because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech. After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years, 23 God sent a spirit that stirred up trouble between Abimelech and the leading citizens of Shechem, and they revolted. 24 God was punishing Abimelech for murdering Gideon’s seventy sons, and the citizens of Shechem for supporting him in this treachery of murdering his brothers. 25 The citizens of Shechem set an ambush for Abimelech on the hilltops and robbed everyone who passed that way. But someone warned Abimelech about their plot.
Judges 9:21-25
Then Abimelech attacked the town of Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower inside the town, and all the men and women—the entire population—fled to it. They barricaded themselves in and climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech followed them to attack the tower. But as he prepared to set fire to the entrance, 53 a woman on the roof dropped a millstone that landed on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.54 He quickly said to his young armor bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!” So the young man ran him through with his sword, and he died. 55 When Abimelech’s men saw that he was dead, they disbanded and returned to their homes.56 In this way, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon was fulfilled.
Judges 9:50-56 (NLT)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV)
1. We Reap What We Sow
Don’t be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God! A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.
Galatians 6:7 (PT)
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:8 (NIV)
2. We Reap Later And Sooner Than We Sow
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
3. We Reap More Than We Sow
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
