Kings Grove Radio 05-14-23am

The speaker reflects on their own experience with Mother's Day, acknowledging the absence of their own mother due to abuse and alcoholism. However, they express gratitude for the other women who served as motherly figures in their life. They mention reconciling with their mother and maintaining communication through social media. They encourage others to appreciate and thank their mothers while they can. The speaker then transitions to discussing a sermon they preached on Mother's Day, focusing on the book of Ruth and the motherly advice from Naomi. They summarize the main points of the book, highlighting the redemption of Ruth and the love between Naomi and Ruth. They emphasize that mothers have a life-changing love and provide three pieces of advice from Naomi: leaving the past, trusting in God, and embracing a new future. Mother's Day, a little bittersweet to me in the fact that from the time I was 5 until the time I was 28, I didn't see my mama because of some abuse, because of some things that happened, because at that point in her life she thought alcohol was more important than her children. I didn't see her, but what I did see was many women, mothers of my friends, who stepped up and were that motherly figure to me. And so that's the reason I say it's bittersweet because yes, I did not have the best example of a mother in my life, but at the same time I had so many women who poured into me, who loved me, made sure I had things to eat, made sure I was taken care of, prayed for me when I was lost. And so that's who I think about. That's who I celebrate. That's who I praise God for and see His goodness in my life in the midst of that tragedy. I'm thankful to say now that I have reconciled with my mother and we have seen each other. We have hugged. We have cried. We have thanked God for where we are now. I still don't see her. She still lives in Texas, which is where I lived back in that day. But we communicate through the gift of Facebook and Messenger. But I think I echo the words of those whose mothers have gone on from this earth. Young ones, if your mother is still with you, whether it's your birth mother, adoptive mother, friend's mama who pours into you like a mama, who will look you in the face and say, boy, you better straighten up. Don't make me take you out behind the woodshed. He said, absolutely. You look at them, you call them, you be sure and thank them while you can. I'm very, very thankful for mothers in my life. And I think that's why I'm drawn to the text where I'll be this morning, the book of Ruth. And we will really touch on the entire book. By way of introduction, I'm going to give you a summary of the book of Ruth. As we look at this topic together, motherly advice from Naomi. This is the sermon that I preached Mother's Day 2018. My first Mother's Day here. You say, you're preaching an old sermon? Absolutely. Why? Because if you're like me, you forget 98% of it when you walk out that door right there. There might be one phrase that stuck to you. Like I had a church member really call me out the other Sunday night. And it did my heart good to know that I impacted somebody with the message. But we were sitting at the crusade. And I had that past Sunday or maybe even that Sunday morning got on doing our quiet times with our phones and how we get distracted and we need to put those on the phone and get a hard copy. And I went on a whole spill about that. But guess what I had Sunday night at the crusade? I had my Bible app. I'm going to open it up so y'all know. Look right there. There's my Bible app right there. I can read my Bible. It is a Bible app. I had my Bible app and they said, You know you shouldn't be on that phone and getting them distractions. You need to get that hard copy and bring it out. And I was like, hey man, you're right, you're right. And so I know if you're like me, when you sit under the preaching of a sermon, you walk out with maybe one or two phrases. And so as I was praying through and preparing for this morning, of course I was drawn to Ruth because what we find is not the typical mother-daughter relationship. And so I reread this outline. And I was like, you know what, those same truths that I preached five years ago are still true today. Why? Because it's the Word of God. And so I said, let's just preach back through that and glean some more information from it. So the book of Ruth again by introduction. Here's a brief summary of the entire book. Elimelech and Naomi, husband and wife, and their two sons, Malon and Chilion lived together. Elimelech died. Malon and Chilion took wives from Moab, Orpha and Ruth. They lived there for ten years and Malon and Chilion died without having children. And so here you find Naomi, a widow who has now lost both her sons, and it's just her and her daughter-in-laws. So Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem. She told Orpha and Ruth to return home and find new husbands. Orpha protested at first, but then left. However, Ruth refused to leave. Naomi and Ruth travel back to Bethlehem. Ruth goes out into the fields to pick up what was left by the harvesters of Boaz. Boaz takes notice of Ruth and provides protection, water and food for her. Ruth reports back to Naomi what has happened. And Naomi instructs Ruth how to be redeemed by Boaz. And Boaz agrees to redeem Ruth. And without spending a lot of time going into the laws and the rules during that time and what the redemption looked like, we understand this, that the redemption of Ruth is a picture, is a forerunner of the redemption we have in Christ. But Ruth really had nothing to offer. Ruth was a widow who was picking up the leftovers from the fields. Ruth could not have went to Boaz and said, hey, let's get married because in that way our families can become one and we can be a power couple. You hear that phrase thrown around a lot in today's society. Oh, this political leader's child marries this political leader's child and they become a power couple. You see it in celebrities and all that. Oh man, what a power couple. There was nothing of that with Ruth. She had nothing to offer. And yet Boaz, in His great grace and His mercy, redeemed her. Beloved, we come before the Lord not having anything to offer Him except our filthy rags. And yet in His great grace and His great mercy, He has redeemed us through what He did on the cross. And so we see that picture of the redemption of Ruth. But this morning's message is focused on motherly advice from Naomi. Because what we see in Naomi is this woman who had taken in her daughter-in-law and because of her love for Naomi and Naomi's love for Ruth, they had this relationship that at one point Ruth cries out, I will go wherever you go and your God shall be my God and your people shall be my people. She said, I'm connected to you. I'm not leaving you. I'm with you wherever. Beloved, if I could pause for just a moment, I could spend all day about the picture of Christ here. Listen, when you put your faith and trust in Him, guess what? You are connected to Him. Wherever you go, He is. Wherever you decide to do, He's there. The psalmist says, if I go to the highest highs, you're there. If I go to the lowest lows, you're there. Nowhere can I go that you are not there. And that's how Christ is with us. Beloved, you are not walking alone. If you put your faith and trust in Christ, He's with you. You say, well, I don't feel Him. You may not feel Him. In the same way that Peter probably didn't feel Him when he got out to vote. He probably felt Him at first, right? Everything was good walking on top of the waves. But then the minute he got his eyes on the storm and started sinking, he probably didn't feel Him. But you know what he did? Lord, save me! And Jesus reached down and grabbed him. And then Peter felt. Felt how close he was. Felt how much he cared. Felt how much he loved for Him in the same way that Naomi felt Ruth's love when she said, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to go where you go. Your God shall be my God. Your people shall be my people. But three pieces of advice from Naomi. First of all, mothers have a love that is life changing. You see, Ruth's life was completely changed. She left her past. Look at chapter 1, verses 16 and 17. It says, but Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go. And wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. But Lord, do so to me. And more also, if anything but death parts you and me. Now, beloved, get this picture in your mind here. That Ruth is not Naomi's blood. Naomi is not Ruth's birth mom. It's a mother-in-law. Now, I have one of the greatest mother-in-laws in the world, and I'm not going to argue with you about that. But if it came down to it, I don't know that I could live with her. I don't know that I could do that. But here's what I do know. That if I needed to, the door's open. And Ruth said, listen, I'm willing to leave my mama, my daddy, my hometown where I grew up, all my friends, I'm willing to leave all of that past behind me to go where you go because of the love that you have for me. Willing to leave it all behind. Her heritage, her home, her family, her religion. She was a Moabite. Pagan religion. Idol worshipping. Worshiped false gods. She said, I'm leaving it all because of the Lord. See that? She recognized the one true God through the life and testimony of Naomi. Ruth's life was completely changed. She left her past. She left her future. Look back at v. 11 of chapter 1. But Naomi said, turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters. Go. For I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters. For it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. She says, look, in this culture, if one brother died, it was customary for the widow to marry the brother. Our culture would say, absolutely not. I don't know anybody in here that would look at their spouse and say, oh, something happens to you, I'll marry your brother. That would be the topic of a long-going conversation, I'm sure. My brother? Really? That was the customary. So Naomi said, look, even if I were to get pregnant now, how many years would you have to wait to marry the brother? No, no, no. Your future is too important to wait on me. You go back. Find another husband. Be a wife. Be a mother. Be all those things. It's not too late for you. But if you come with me, there's no hope. And yet, Ruth is saying, nope, I'm following you. I'm going with you despite all of that. That's the love that Naomi has for Ruth and that Ruth has for Naomi. We're beginning to see this connection that mothers are to have a love that is life-changing. Mothers are to have a desire that is selfless. Flip over to chapter 3 verse 1. She has a desire that is selfless for her child. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, my daughter, shall I not seek security for you that it may be well with you? Naomi cares for Ruth. She said I want what's best for you. I want to take care of you. I want you to be secure. This word that is translated security here means rest and peace. And I believe that King James actually translates that rest. Rest and peace. I don't know a mother in here that wouldn't look at their child and say, that's what I want for you in life. Rest and peace. They could be a rough mother to look at a child and say, I want nothing but turmoil and war and fighting for you. And we understand that those things are going to happen. And we understand that sometimes the most growth comes from those things. But the reality is most mothers for their children, that's what they want. Rest and peace. She said, should I not want security for you? I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to get that for you by telling you what to do. But not only rest and peace, she has a desire that it will be well with you. What does that mean? I want provisions for you. You see, in this culture, women who didn't have a husband, women who didn't have a man to go out and earn money and take care of them had a rough life. They couldn't make it. There were very few, if any, women in this society that were able to move themselves up into the realms of society where they would become high class without a husband that did that. Now, I know times have changed and there are plenty of women in our society that work hard and make a name for themselves and they do great. And many would say, well, I don't need a man. You don't. You don't. To make good in this life, you don't. But God brings people together to help one another. And I would not be the man that I am without my loving, wonderful, strong, correcting, disciplining wife that I have. You say, your wife disciplines you? Absolutely. Not with a belt, but all she's got to do is give me a look. And I'm like, yes, ma'am, I'm sorry. I apologize. Right? And I try that and I just get laughs for some reason. I don't know how that works, but it works. And so God brings people together to help and to uplift. And here's the problem. Ruth didn't have that. So Naomi said, I've got to find that for you. Because I want this for you. I want security. I want provision. I want you to have a house and food and clothes and happiness. She has a desire that is selfless because Naomi is second. She's not looking to gain anything. Flip over to chapter 4, verse 9. Chapter 4, verse 9. And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses this day that I have bought, listen, all that was a limilex and all that was chileans and melons from the hand of Naomi. Everything that her husband had gained from his inheritance. Everything that her husband had worked to gain in this life. Everything that maybe her children had worked. It all came to her at their deaths. And here Boaz is, not only getting Ruth, but getting all of that. Every bit of it. So that at this point, Boaz buys everything. You know what that means? Naomi has nothing. She's given it all to Boaz for the sake of Ruth. She said, I don't want to gain anything. I'm pouring it all out for my daughter. For my child. I'm giving it all over. Mothers have a desire that is selfless because she is second. She personally gained nothing. In fact, she became the servant of the child in chapter 4, verse 16. Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom and became a nurse to him. Now wait a minute. What happened here? How did Naomi all of a sudden had a child? It wasn't her child. She became the maid, the servant, the nurse, the child of Ruth. Now, physically I don't know how that works. I'm sure Miss Penny as a nurse could get up here and explain all of that to us. But that's not the point. The point is this. That Naomi was so selfless in her desire for her children that she said, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they're good, they're happy, and they're well off in this life. Even to the point I've become a servant to my child's child. She was not looking to gain anything. Not looking to make a name for herself. This is the only place that you'll see Naomi mentioned. In all of Scripture, Naomi's not mentioned anywhere else, but you know who is? Ruth. Ruth is mentioned in Matthew 1, verse 5. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse. So we see Ruth mentioned in the lineage of David. In the lineage of Jesus. So Naomi wasn't trying to make a name for herself. So mothers, you may not ever get your name in lights. You may not ever be the talk of the town. And in fact, you may get overlooked when the grandbabies come along. This conversation happened right here in this very room this morning. Once the grandbabies come along, it's not about you. They come in there. Where's them grandbabies at? How you doing? Good to see you. Nice to meet you. Haven't seen you in a while. Give me them grandbabies, right? So mothers often go unnoticed, unseen, unthanked, unpraised. One author put it this way in the form of the beatitudes found in the book of Matthew. The author writes, blessed are mothers who did without for us. They will be rewarded. Blessed are mothers who lost sleep when we were sick. They will find rest. Blessed are mothers who taught us how to pray. They will share God's Kingdom. Blessed are mothers who comforted us. They shall be comforted. Blessed are mothers who taught us right from wrong. They will know justice. Blessed are mothers who shared with us the meaning of peace. They shall know peace. Blessed are mothers who taught us the importance of loving God and each other. They shall see God. Which brings me to my last piece of advice very quickly. Mothers have a faith that is contagious. Mothers should have a faith that is contagious. Naomi's faith was evident. We saw that in chapter 1, verses 16 and 17. When Ruth says, your God shall be my God. Well, how did she know what God that was? Because Naomi lived it. Said it. Taught her about it. That's why she cried out to Him. At the end of verse 17, the Lord do so to me. Because she recognized and understood the God of Naomi. Ruth knew about God because of Naomi. Ruth chose to follow God because of Naomi. Mothers, is your faith evident to your children? Her faith was honest. Beloved, I think we can learn a lot from this truth right here. Let's look at chapter 1, verses 20 and 21. She says in verse 20, But she said to them, Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me? Her faith was honest. At this point in her life, Naomi was angry at God. She was mad. And you can kind of picture that. Maybe even you would say rightfully so. She lost her husband and her two sons in the span of ten years. She lost her way of living. She lost her status. She lost it all. We would phrase it this way. God, why me? Why did I have to go through this? Why did I have to feel this? Why did I have to experience this? God, I serve You. I do this. I do that. We list all of our qualifications. Well, I want you to know that if that's how you're feeling this morning, you're in good company. Because I guarantee there's more than just you that have felt this way in the sanctuary. But even in Scripture, we see people feeling that way. Naomi feels that way. Job felt that way. Job cried out to God, Why? Why? Why? God's response was, where were you when I told the oceans to only come this far? Where were you when I set the foundations of the earth? Who can give God insight or wisdom? This is what I would encourage you. Even though you're mad at God, have the attitude of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Though He slay me, yet will we serve Him. The heart of Job as well. Our God can rescue us from the fiery furnace, but if He does not, we're still not going to worship your God because He's the only true God. She was angry at God. But even in the midst of that, she recognized God's blessings. She recognized God's blessings. She understood that God gave it all to her. She understood that without God, she would have nothing. Chapter 2, verse 20, Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and the dead. And said to her, this man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives. So even in spite of her situation, she said, God's blessed us because He has brought us to this man who again, according to the law, could redeem her. So she recognized God's blessing. Lastly, her faith was honest because she gave God the glory. Chapter 4, verses 14 and 15, Then the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a close relative. And may His name be famous in Israel. And may He be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons has born Him. Think about that. Better to her than seven sons. So even though Naomi did not recognize, the blessing in and of itself wasn't Boaz. The blessing was Ruth. The blessing was Ruth this whole time. The blessing was with her this whole time. What Naomi failed to do in that moment or leading up to that moment is she had her eyes on the situation. I don't have anything. My sons. My daughters. I went out full and now I return empty. Woe is me for this situation. And because she had her eyes on the problem, she couldn't see the blessing. Mothers, those beloved, wonderful, amazing little angels of yours, at times may not seem like the blessing. They may be the trouble. They may be the source of hurts and heartache and stress and anxiety, hair loss, graying of the beard. They may be the source of all of that, but may we never lose sight of the truth that they are a blessing from God. Children, whether you're one year old or 18 years old or 46 years old, your mother and those women in your life that have been a mother to you are a blessing from God. I want to read very quickly as I close. Proverbs 31. That's where I'm going. Proverbs 31. I want to read very quickly. Proverbs 31 beginning in verse 26. And children, I want you to hear this. You may not realize it now, but this will become more true as you get older. Speaking about a godly woman, she opens her mouth with wisdom. And on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. And mothers, it may not seem like it now, but I think there will become a day since her children rise up and call her blessed. And husbands, remember this. Her husband also calls her blessed and he praises her. Husbands, don't forget to praise your wives. They do a lot that they often don't get credit for. Take time to praise them. Take time to exemplify giving your children's mother honor in front of your children so that they know how to do it. So as they grow up and they get older and they realize how much wisdom comes out of that young lady's mouth, they will call her blessed. Now mothers, I'm going to be honest with you right now. With all the love in my heart, I'm going to tell you this. You can never be the mother that God intended you to be without putting your faith and trust in Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. So I want to encourage you to do that this morning. Fathers, you cannot be the father that you need to be, that you've been called to be, that God would have you to be without putting your faith and trust in Christ. You see, this morning, we are celebrating Mother's Day, but the truths found in God's Word through the life of Naomi are true for us all. We need to have a love that is life-changing. We need to have desires that are selfless. And we need to have faith that is contagious. And we can only do this by putting our faith and trust in Christ. Let's stand together this morning. There's some in here that need to do just that. They need to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Let me be honest with you as I try to be from the bottom of my heart. There is no better gift that you can give your mama than put your faith and trust in Christ. But don't do it just for your mama. Do it because you recognize that you have sin in your life and you need forgiveness of that sin. There's only one that can give you that forgiveness to cleanse you under the blood that was shed on the cross. And His name is Jesus. Maybe you need to come and pray for your mama. Husbands, children, how much time do you spend praying for that woman that has blessed you and taken care of you? And even when you get sick and act like you're three years old, and you need a doctor to bring you soup, will you come and pray for that precious woman this morning? I'll be down front. I'd love to pray with you, pray for you. This altar is open. We're not going to extend this long, but you come as this altar is open.