Looking For Love In All The Right Places Series

Introduction

Ruth the love story takes a dramatic turn this week, but we need to remember the prayer we have been praying for the last two weeks:

Lord, break out of the box we try to put you in and destroy everything in our lives that is not of You. Mess up our schedules, plans, and preconceived notions of what a relationship with you should be and bring us into a real, vibrant, living relationship with You. God we are tired of knowing about You, we want to know You. We want more than just Your anointing, we want You, Your presence.

A Christian’s Responsibility

Ruth 3:1

Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

Shall I not seek rest for thee. Rest here is equivalent to marriage. Naomi felt that Ruth should not remain a poor gleaner in the fields. Since Ruth had no mother (in Judah, at any rate), Naomi determined to take the initiative to arrange a marriage.[i]

Is it not true that in the Word of God that the church is the bride and Christ the Bridegroom?

Eph 5:23-32

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

-The lost do not know how to come to Jesus, and He did not leave the command for the angels to win souls. He reserved that privilege for us. It is up to those of us who have walked the path to guide those who follow after us.

Matt 28:19-20

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 16:15

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

To preach, teach, disciple is the reasonability of each Christian, not just a chosen few. I don’t have the gift. It is not a matter of gift but commandment. You might as well say “I don’t have the gift of giving.” That is not a gift either but a command. I don’t have the gift of being a discipleship. That is not a gift either but a command.

See, there is an innate desire within man to worship, to seek after God, but in our fallen state, we are spiritually blind and will follow other ways in an effort to reach God but the road will lead to disaster. We can try to do good works to get to heaven, but a stairway to heaven (God should let me in I gave more money than everyone else in my church combined! God would be so impressed!)

Or people will follow false gods. This is an area of deception by satan. If he can get us off track, following the wrong god (like money, allah, Mary) or like Cain, following the true God but coming to Him in our way (after all, we know better than God what is pleasing to Him, don’t we?) like the thought “we are saved by grace but we must keep our salvation by our works” then it is no more grace but works.

We need to be the let the love of God shine abroad in our hearts, leading others to where they can find the love of God for themselves, finding true love in the right place: with God.

Our Kinsman-Redeemer

Ruth 3:2-4

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.