Ruth 1:17 Pastor Howard Park

Ruth 1:17 1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelek, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. 3 Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 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. 8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord 's hand has turned against me!" 14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." 16 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. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." Today we celebrate Mother's Day. We call it Mother's Day but it is actually the Lord's Day. I have a problem with this because why is it necessary to call it Mother,s Day when it is actually the day to worship our Lord? Is it possible that this can be twisted and the focus taken away from God? We should look to worship God and see how as a mother one can give glory to God. In today's passage we see the story of Ruth and her mother Naomi. We see that they are in the midst of making a decision of where to go. Ruth is decisive in her decision to follow her to the end. Do you as a mother have this kind of decisiveness? Ruth confesses that the God her mother in law serves will be her God and her people will be her people. What kind of life did Naomi show Ruth that gave Ruth the decisiveness to follow her? Let us add the fathers into this also. Do you as a father live a life that makes others desire to follow the God you serve? If you did not then you have failed. On Friday we learned that Jesus is our Master. We are His servants. Then why is it that we do not live according to the way the Master desires but rather we live the way we want. We have been deceived by Satan and live recklessly and without focus. Our society has been deceived and now we can see why our society is falling apart. We have lost the heart of service and rather we are only concerned about ourselves. It is our selfishness that lacks regard for others and in this disregard we do not care about how the st of the world ends up as long as one is doing well. If we were to care for others as we cared for ourselves then we would have a better family, community and country. Instead of being selfish we should serve others. Naomi lived a life that showed Ruth how to live a life that pleased God. It is so much so that her name has been recorded in history for us to see. Is there any greater gift than the gift of faith? When we hear things that bother our conscience we get angry because why we hear is contrary to what we desire to do. If everything were to be the way you wanted you would never get angry. You get angry because you are the deciding line of what is right and wrong. You pretend to not hear the truth, you act as if the word does not apply to you, you come and go to church when you feel Ike it. If you say that you serve God, then do you truly believe Him when He tells you that He will show you the way to find life and help you with all your problems? There a times when the word gives you such relief, at times such hope, and at times it convicts us. When it convicts us rather than forgetting what it says you should read it over again and apply that conviction into your life. There is a man in Korea who owns 62 patents. He says that when he sees a problem he will keep staring at it until the solution presents itself. He says that he is not highly educated, but the answer is not in the education but in finding the answer to the problem. Do you have a purpose that you desire in your life? Is it to be a followeer of Christ? If that is your goal, then are you doing everything in your power to live the life and make the changes that will bring about the change? Are all you actions in line with you goal? If you live this life that is completely devoted to serving God then you will be victorious in your pursuit of God. The God will give you all the blessings that your heart desires. You will have a happy home. The reason you do no is because what you desires and what your actions show are not working together. Y say you want to follow God but you pick and choose what you will do and not do. You pick and choose what you believe and not believe. Do you have any less than Naomi? Are you still complaining to God? Do you know when the most important time in your life is? It is now. It is the people you are with now. If you see this then you should live your life as it is the most important opportunity to do the things that will make the difference tomorrow. Rather than complaining about your spouse, work, and others, lie your life and make ue of this time to make the changes that will impact your life. Stop wasting time complaining and arguing. You accomplish nothing. You are being foolish. What has changed in your life? Naomi lived in complete obedience to God. Is the Old Testament easier to follow or the New Testament? The OT is easier because all you. Had to do was show acts of obedience, but the New Testament showed that it was not only your actions but the condition of your heart. In the OT even if you killed someone you were able to be forgiven but in the NT even if you had hated someone you were guilty of murder. Do you see this? Can you come to worship before God when you constantly argue with your wife? Will God accept your worship? Why do we worship on Sunday rather than Saturday? It is easier to come to God after the week is over and ask for forgiveness, but we have changed the sequence. Now we worship God first on the first day of the week and say that we will live a life that glorifies God. How much more are we responsible for our actions? The NT says that God looks at our hearts. God sees everything. The OT was concerned with outward appearance but now we are held to a higher standard. God desires those who worship Him I spirit and truth, but how many times do we worship out of our emotionally driven motives. We must be able to be discerning. We must live like Naomi did, and to obey God in everything. We all have the ability to do so, but you can only do so when you surrender completely to Him. May you all live your life to be a blessing to the who follow after you.