Christian Herter was running hard for reelection as governor of Massachusetts, and one day he arrived late at a barbecue. He’d had no breakfast or lunch, and he was famished. As he moved down the serving line, he held out his plate and received one piece of chicken.
The governor said to the serving lady, “Excuse me, do you mind if I get another piece of chicken. I’m very hungry.”
The woman replied, “Sorry, I’m supposed to give one piece to each person.”
He repeated, “But I’m starved,” and again she said, “Only one to a customer.”
Herter was normally an easy-going man, but he decided this was the time to use the weight of his office and said, “Madam, do you know who I am? I am the governor of this state.”
She answered, “Do you know who I am? I’m the lady in charge of chicken. Move along, Mister.” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p.297)
That lady knew her position, and she was not about to be intimidated by anyone.
So it is when you know your position in Christ. When you know what your standing is as a believer in Jesus Christ, then there is no one who can intimidate you. There is no one you cannot stand up to. There is no one you have to be afraid of.
The problem is: many believers don’t know their position. They don’t know where they stand with Christ. They don’t know how much God honors those who humble themselves before Him.
But there is a story in the Old Testament that wonderfully illustrates your position in Christ. It is the story of how God took a nobody, a poor, foreign widow, and elevated her to a high position in Israel. It is the story of Ruth, and if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ruth 4, Ruth 4, where we pick up the story right after Boaz has promised to marry Ruth.
Ruth 4:1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. (ESV)
Boaz went to the gate, the place where all business and legal transactions took place. There, he met the man, who had first rites to redeem Naomi’s property and marry Ruth. Boaz wants to do it, but he has to negotiate with the man who has first rites.
So when he shows up, Boaz calls out, “Hey you! Yes you. You come here” That’s really the sense of it in the Hebrew. Boaz doesn’t even address him by name. The word for “friend” is an impersonal greeting – more like “hey you” than “friend.”
Ruth 4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. (ESV)
Boaz wants the town leaders to witness the transaction about to take place.
Ruth 4:3-4 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” (ESV)
Naomi is Ruth’s mother-in-law. Ruth had come to Israel with her after they both lost their husbands in Moab. They are both poor, destitute widows, and now Naomi is forced to sell her land in order to provide for herself and Ruth. The law allowed for a close relative, a kinsman-redeemer, to buy the land back, or redeem it, so it could stay in the family. Boaz gives this man the opportunity to redeem Naomi’s land. Except, there is one catch.
Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” (ESV)
Ruth comes with the deal. You see, it was not only the kinsman-redeemer’s responsibility to redeem the land, he also had to marry the widow, so she could raise children in her deceased husband’s name. Her children would then get the land, not his.
Ruth 4:6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” (ESV)
He didn’t want to do it, because it might jeopardize his wealth and standing in the community. There was a certain stigma that went with marrying foreigners, and he didn’t want any half-breed children getting any of his land.
All this man cared about was his wealth and prestige. When he had an opportunity to get more land, great! But if that meant taking care of a poor, foreign widow, no way! Well, I find it very interesting that this man is not even named in the Bible. Boaz doesn’t call him by name, and we don’t know who he is. And yet, 3,000 years later, we all know the name of Boaz & Ruth. That’s the way it is when you pursue wealth and prestige. They slip through your fingers like sand.
Just a few years ago (2015), Amy Schumer rose to fame, receiving several awards for her acting and comedy routines. Vulture, an entertainment magazine, reported what she said at the time about her celebrity status. “I'm, like, newly famous, and it turns out it's not fun... I'm just now learning that my dreams have been a sham... It's actually not great and it just only comes with pain.” Schumer predicted an end date for her time in Hollywood. “We all know it's going to last another three months because that's how it works.” (Adrienne Gaffney, “Amy Schumer: I'm Newly Famous, and It Turns Out It's Not Fun,” Vulture, 11-13-15; www.PreachingToday.com)
Recently, she appeared with her husband in Food Network’s Amy Schumer Learns to Cook, so she still has some celebrity status, but she’s absolutely right. It doesn’t last very long.
1 John 2:17 says, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
So don’t waste your time pursuing wealth. Don’t waste your energy chasing after prestige. Instead, pursue the will of God, like Boaz and Ruth. Submit to Him. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you (James 4:10).
Ruth was a nobody – a poor, foreign widow. She had the opportunity to pursue a life of ease in Moab, where she could find another husband, and wealth and prestige among her own people. Instead, she chose to follow Naomi and Naomi’s God, even though it meant poverty and scorn in a foreign land. She humbled herself before the Lord, and look at what He does for her!
Ruth 4:7-8 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. (ESV)
It was like signing a contract.
Ruth 4:9-12 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.” (ESV)
Perez was Boaz’ own great, great, great, great, grandfather. The town leaders want Boaz and Ruth to have lots of children! Rachel and Leah, between them, had 10 children, and the Perez family was well known and well liked in Bethlehem.
Instead of shame and ridicule, the town leaders blessed Boaz when he redeemed Ruth. He bought her out of a life of poverty and shame. He married her and made her his own, and they honored him for it. But more than that, GOD honored Boaz and Ruth, as well.
Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (ESV)
God put Ruth in the lineage of King David Himself. He was one of Israel’s greatest kings and an ancestor of the Messiah! God exalted ruth. He lifted her up. He honored her beyond anything she could have ever imagined.
And that’s what God does when you humble yourself before Him. He exalts you, as well. He lifts you up. He honors you far beyond Your wildest dreams.
You see, God Himself became our kinsman-redeemer, when he took on human flesh. He who is holy and unique, unlike anything He had made, became a close relative of the human family. God became a man. Then He paid the price of his own shed blood on the cross to buy us out of a life of poverty and shame.
All you need to do is humble yourself before Him. All you need to do is live in dependence upon Christ. Then you, like Ruth, will...
FIND RECOGNITION.
You will find prestige and honor.
John 1:12 says, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
When you trust Christ as your Savior, God gives you the right to become “children of God” just like the kings of Israel. That was the official title of a king in Bible days. He was known as a “son of God” (2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7). You and I, who have put our faith in Christ, we have the right to be sons (or children) of God. We have the right to be kings!
Ephesians 2:6 says, “[God] raised us up with [Christ] and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” And according to Ephesians 1:21, those places are “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named...” That means you don’t have to let live in guilt and fear anymore. You don’t have to let Satan intimidated you. You are above all that, in the place of ALL authority with Jesus Christ.
Marx Barnes, now named Steve Carter, was born in 1977. He had no idea that he was a lost, missing child for most of his life until January 2011, when he did a search on missingkids.com. He found himself staring at a composite image created to show what Marx would look like as an adult.
“I got chills,” Carter said.
A DNA test ultimately confirmed his identity.
Marx went missing at 6-months-old on June 21, 1977, when his mother placed him in a stroller and went for a walk on one of the Hawaiian Islands. Through a strange series of events, Marx's mother was placed in a psychiatric hospital, while Marx was placed in protective care, ultimately becoming a ward of the state. Marx was placed in an orphanage; and when he became an adult, he “never had any strong desire to locate his family.”
By contrast, his half-sister had only one desire in life: to find out what happened to her brother. It was her efforts—convincing officials to reactivate the investigation—that led to the composite image Carter discovered online. An official from the Missing Child Center in Hawaii said, “If it wasn't for her, it would still be a cold case.” (Joey Bartolomeo, “Alive, 34 Years After He Went Missing,” People, 4-30-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
Imagine, discovering that you were once a lost, missing child, but that was the case for all of us before we met Jesus. His whole life was about pursuing lost sinners like you and me. As He said, He “came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Then when He found us, we discovered that we were members of His royal family, not just children of ordinary parents, but children of God!
So, dear believing friend, don’t be afraid any longer, because you have all the rights of a child of God! you have all the rights of royalty in God’s family! You don’t have to prove yourself to anybody, because God Himself has already exalted you.
Now, that’s only for believers in Christ. So if you haven’t trusted Christ with your live, I urge you to do it today. Humble yourself before the Lord and find recognition; find glory and honor in Him. More than that, humble yourself before the Lord, and…
FIND RESOURCES, as well, just like Ruth did.
Find an overwhelming abundance of heavenly wealth. Ephesians 1:3 says, “[God] has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” 1 Peter 1:4 says, We have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for [us].” And 2 Peter 1 says, “[God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” We are spiritually rich in Christ. We have everything we need in Him.
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art: everything from Picasso to Raphael. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart. He died instantly. He often talked about you and your love for art.”
The young man held out the package and said, “I know this isn't much. I'm not a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.” The father opened the package and gazed at a portrait of his son. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured his son in the painting. The father hung the portrait over his mantle. When visitors came to his home, he always drew attention to the portrait of his son before he showed them any other great works.
When the father died, his paintings were to be auctioned. Many influential people gathered, excited about the opportunity to purchase them. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel and asked for someone to start the bidding. The crowd scoffed and demanded the Van Goghs and the Rembrandts. But the auctioneer persisted. “Who will start the bidding? $200? $100?” The crowd again insisted on seeing the famous paintings. Still the auctioneer solicited, “The son! The son! Who'll take the son?”
Finally a voice said, “I'll give $10 for the painting.” The longtime gardener of the father was poor and couldn't afford anything more. While the auctioneer continued to pursue a higher bid, the crowd became angry. The auctioneer pounded the gavel and sold the painting for $10 to the gardener.
An eager buyer from the second row bellowed, “Finally, on with the auction.” But the auctioneer explained, “I'm sorry, the auction is over. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who gets the son gets everything.” (Source unknown; submitted by Leslie Bauer, Barrington, Illinois, www.PreachingToday.com)
My friends, that’s the way it is with Jesus Christ. He who gets the Son [of God] gets everything! When you receive Him, when you welcome Christ into your life, you receive the wealth of God Himself; you receive all the resources of Heaven to live your life here on earth.
So don’t live in spiritual poverty any longer. Utilize the wealth of heaven and go all out for Jesus Christ. Live for Him like there is no tomorrow, because you have all the resources you need today. Just trust Christ with your life. Humble ourselves before the Lord, and find recognition; find resources, and finally...
FIND A RELATIONSHIP.
Find a close, personal relationship with our Redeemer Himself.
Do you know, the best part of the story of Ruth is not that Ruth got rich. It is not that Ruth got recognition, no. The best part of the story is that Ruth got Boaz. She married her redeemer!
So it is with every believer. The best thing about trusting Christ is not the spiritual wealth that’s yours, as wonderful as that is. It is not even the fact that you are kings in His kingdom, no. The best thing about trusting Christ is that you get Him! He is your Redeemer, and the moment you place your trust in Him, you enter into a relationship with Him that lasts forever.
Please, if you haven’t already done it, do it today. Trust Christ with your life. Put away your pride. Humble yourself before the Lord and find recognition; find resources; and best of all, find a close, personal relationship with your Redeemer.
I like the way Max Lucado put it in his book, A Gentle Thunder. He said, “There are many reasons God saves you: to bring glory to himself, to appease his justice, to demonstrate his sovereignty. But one of the sweetest reasons God saved you is because he is fond of you. He likes having you around. He thinks you are the best thing to come down the pike in quite a while… If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart... Face it, friend. He's crazy about you!” (Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, Word, 1995)
God loves you more than you’ll ever know. And the best thing about being a Christian is being in a close, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. My dear believing friends, enjoy that relationship as you live your life this week.
