Good morning. I am so thrilled to be up here this morning. So thrilled to have you on this Mother's Day morning. We talked about it a little bit last week, but these past couple weeks I have had the wonderful opportunity to get up and to preach as Nate has welcomed in his son. And so it allows him to have a little time to take, I guess, a break. Yeah, like I guess all the parents are laughing at that. But, you know, I mean, hey, I don't even work very much, but no. But we're so thankful for that, and I love that I've been able to, I've been given the task of being able to talk through, I think, one of the most beautiful and amazing and astounding stories in all of the Bible as we are going through the story of Ruth. Last week, we just went through Ruth 1. We just got into the nitty-gritty, just started out in the book of Ruth. And so I did want to take just a quick second to run through real quick what we talked about as a reminder for anyone who was not able to catch that. And so Ruth opens up around this woman named Naomi and her family. She has a husband named Elimelech and two sons. They live in Israel, and during the time, they are going through a famine. Because they are going through this famine, they decide that they are going to move, and they are going to run away. They're going to leave Israel and go into Moab. Now, this is significant because Moab is actually an enemy country of Israel, and so this was not a great thing, and we're going to actually revisit why more so in a minute. But as they go, and as they settle in Moab, pretty soon after that, Elimelech, who was Naomi's husband, dies. And so she is left there in this foreign country with just her two sons. Now, as they settle down, her two sons marry these two women named Orpah and Ruth. And they live, and they live there for about 10 years. And during this 10 years, something of note is that neither one of them were able to conceive. And so there was never a family line that was established through either one of these marriages for Naomi's family line and for her son's family line to continue. Well, after these 10 years, actually, she ends up losing both of her sons. So here are these two women that have lost their husbands, and here is Naomi, who has now lost her husband and has lost both of her sons, which means she's not only lost her family, but she's lost her future and the future of her family and of her generations to come as well. And so because of that, she decides the only thing that she's going to be able to do is to go back to Israel to hope that the Lord will show mercy on her and to hope that maybe somebody will be able to help her out and sustain her just for the end of her days. And so she decides to head back. Now, as this happens, both of her daughters-in-law try to go with her, and she says, no, you can't do it. You can't come with me. To come with me is to leave any hope of you having a future. You will end up like me. I don't have any other family members. I don't have any other way to produce another son. You won't be able to have a family. You won't be able to have another marriage or another husband because no one's going to marry you because you're from here. You're a Moabite. No one in Israel is going to marry a Moabite except for someone within my family, and I don't have anyone. So you can't come with me. Go back home. Go back where things are comfortable, where you have people that you love, and you can find a husband, marry them, and you can have a family. Orpah decides, okay, I will. I'll go back. Ruth says, no. She says, where you go, I go. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Only death will part us. And if I try to leave before that, may God judge me ever so severely. An incredible step of faith to look in the face of a future and of a hope of having a family and people that you love in a home and to be able to find a husband and to have a family. And she looks at all of that, turns all of a faith do you have to have to make that decision? And that I believe that the reason why Ruth made that decision is because in her heart she knew that this is where the Lord had her. And if this was God's will, then this is the decision she was going to make. That she was going to trust God and to say, I have no idea why you would do this. I have no idea why you would have me go with this woman and give up any hope of a future that I have. But what I also know is that living within your will and saying yes to you, even if it doesn't make sense to me, is always better and always more joyful and always going to bring about, in some way, God's goodness wherever that comes. And so she says she's going to go with him. And so that is where we pick up this morning. And as we pick up this morning, they're coming into Bethlehem. They're coming back into where Naomi is from. And Naomi, in her depression, just kind of isolates to herself. And Ruth, being the person who is there basically to take care of Naomi, says, let me go out into the fields. The barley season has started. Let me go out into the fields and I will glean. Now, gleaning is a farming term. And during this time, if someone, say there's a widow who doesn't have a husband, or say there is a family who maybe they've lost their land or their land isn't producing crops, for the sake of these women and for the sake of these family and for the sake of these people who might be impoverished, people who did have crops that were thriving, as they picked them, anything that was left over, they were told, do not go back and get those. Let the people who were worse off in this place go and pick up those scraps so that they can sustain and they can live. So this is what Ruth goes and does. Let me see what I can find. And so she goes into this place. She goes onto this farm, walks through these fields, and starts gleaning. Well, the farm is owned by this man named Boaz. Boaz comes up. He notices her, and he's like, who's this lady? Why do I have a Moabitess in my field right now, guys? Don't look at me, I don't know. So one of them replies and says, that is a Moabitess. She has come, and she is the daughter-in-law of Naomi, and she has come back, basically says the story that we just talked about. She's come back with Naomi to Israel to help her and to help her live. She lost her husband, which was Naomi's son, and she is there trying to take care of Naomi. And so Boaz is struck by just, oh my gosh, that is incredible. That's beautiful. What an incredible story. What an incredible person. And so she goes up, so he goes up and he talks to her. He's like, hey, Ruth, I'm Boaz. You know, I don't know. But he goes up and he's like, and basically says, hi, you know, this is my field and you are welcome here whenever you want. Not only are you welcome here to glean, but if you want to harvest with my servant women, then harvest with my servant women. And if you need water or if you need anything else, it's right there and I'm right here. You just let me know what you need. I will make sure that you are able to get out and be sustained and to have everything that you want and everything that you need. And so Ruth is obviously struck by this immense kindness and she's like, what's the deal? Why would you show me such kindness? Why would you show me such grace? Especially, she's like, you're a man from Israel. I'm a woman from Moab. I don't understand why you would show me such a kindness. And he responds, and it's not on the screen, but I do want to read his response because I think it's beautiful, and I think it's so evident that he sees what we saw last week, that everything that Ruth is doing is so Spirit and God-ordained, and she has such immense and incredible faith to be able to walk it out. And so I'm going to read. It's verse 2, 11 and 12. And so let me find it. I've heard what you've done. And honestly, it's not even about like, wow, look at what you've done. I'm going to do whatever I can. He's like, the Lord is who repays you. Like literally, the Lord has made, I have no choice but to do whatever I can to help you because the Lord has said so. Because the Lord has said, I have my hand on this woman who is standing and walking humbly and faithfully for me, even at the expense of her own life and of her own happiness. So she goes back home with a lot of stuff in her arms. And she walks in and Naomi's like, what happened? How could this be so? This isn't gleaning. This is like harvesting. What has happened? And so she says, well, I met this man who owned the field that I was in named Boaz. And Naomi is overwhelmed with thankfulness. One, because, wow, we have a place that is now able to sustain us where we don't have to live in poverty. We don't have to live in hunger. We have what we need. But also because Naomi has her eyes open to who Boaz is. Because Boaz is actually within the family of Elimelech, who is Naomi's fallen husband within his family, however you say it. Yeah, I don't know. We'll say cousin. But Boaz and Elimelech are within the same family. And so what she realizes is it's this term that is present within the Israel law and the law of God in Israel, but that Boaz is actually their kinsman redeemer. So what a kinsman redeemer is, it's got a lot to it. There's a couple parts to it, but one thing is with these two women living on their land and not able to work it and produce it, because obviously there's only one hand that can do it because Naomi's too old, what Boaz is able to do as a kinsman redeemer, if he wishes, he can buy this land in the name of Naomi and Naomi's family. He can put workers on it, he can work it, he can sustain the fields and he can sustain the land in Naomi's name, even though she doesn't have a husband or a rightful successor. What it also means, since Naomi doesn't have a son anymore, is that a kinsman redeemer can actually marry Naomi to produce a seed, to make sure that that land is sustained and to make sure that that family name is sustained even past and beyond the land. Well, as we know, Naomi's too old for this. But what a kinsman redeemer can do is he could marry Ruth. And so as they go about, she continues to work within that field. And at some point, Naomi finally says, you know what? I think the time is right. I feel like the Lord has given us this blessing. And Boaz seems like someone who's so faithful to the Lord that even though you're from Moab, and even though this might be a difficult thing to him, and kind of a shot to the back of some of the Israelite people, I think he might say yes to this. And so what I want you to do is I want you to go. I want you to visit him. So Ruth, in faith and in trust that Naomi is walking and acting in faith, she goes and she visits him. While he's asleep, she is to basically uncover his feet and to lay at his feet while he's asleep. Weird thing to do. But nonetheless, I mean, honestly, when I look at Ruth stepping out in faith, that's a pretty great way to step out in faith because I would have to be very sure that it's what the Lord wanted for me to sneak in someone's house to lay at their bed and to uncover their feet and for me to get under those covers instead. But that's neither here nor there. She does it. And as she does, literally in scripture, it says something awakened him. And like, yeah, it was the person that's laying at your feet. But I love it. I don't know why. That's like, to me, just random comedy within this. And he wakes up, startled. He's like, who is this? She says, it's your servant, Ruth. And I don't know if you know this, but you are my kinsman redeemer. If you would have me, and if you would have our land, could you buy our land, and maybe could you marry me? And maybe we could produce a son so that Naomi's family can be sustained. It's Naomi's name and just this woman who's lost everything that maybe we can give her a hope of a new family. And he says yes. He says, let me check on something because there's actually a man that was closer within the line of kinsmen redeemers, and so he reaches out. He says, hey, are you willing to buy this land? The man says, yes. He says, are you willing to marry this Moabite woman and to have a child with her? He says, no. And so Boaz says, okay, then I'll do it. And so that's where we're going to pick up and where we're actually going to have on the screen. And if you want to read along with me, you can as we read Ruth 4, 13 through the first half of 17. It says, And the woman of the neighborhood gave him And then, actually, we're going to stop right there because we'll pick up there later. I mean, that's a story, right? A woman loses literally everything, and because of the faithfulness of her daughter-in-law, who didn't even grow up as someone who loved God, because God has worked in the heart of her, then Naomi is able to survive, but survive at best. Ruth, who has said, I look into the face of that I could go back home, I could return, I could have a family of my own, I could be with my family and the people that I love, my mother and my father, and live in this place that I love, but instead I'm going to go to a place where I could be persecuted and ridiculed for being from Moab, and I'm going to do so knowing, because of what Naomi is saying, that there's no way that I could ever get married or have children or have a family of my own. I'm choosing poverty and I'm choosing isolation because, one, because I know that the Lord has me there, and two, because I know that I'll be able to take care of Naomi, who I love and adore. I think one of the main and major purposes of Ruth and the story of Ruth is for us to realize that God's will is never really the same as our will, but it's always, it's always better. Those of us who have lived long enough within God's will have been able to realize that, right? We've recognized that. We've gone through things that we just have no idea why the Lord would put us through those things, but we've come out the other side and been like, oh my gosh, I am just so thankful that the Lord did it that way. I'm so thankful that the Lord's will was what happened and not what my will was because otherwise I never would have seen this great glory. And I hesitate to leave it there because I hesitate for anyone in here to hear that if we'll just live faithfully to God, and if we'll just be obedient to God, that we'll get all of the things that we want, and we'll have all of these miraculous things that will just randomly happen to us. The facing the giants effect of that Christian movie where the guys pray, and so because they pray, then everyone wins a state championship, and all of the great fun things. And I don't want anyone to hear that that is the point, but instead the point is that the goodness and that the joy of living and being within the will of God far exceeds what we could ever hope to experience from whatever joys we could seek after by ourselves in our own life. And honestly, when you look at Ruth's life and when you look at the decision that Ruth made, if she would have chosen to go home, from a human perspective, that probably would have been the better option, even than having a family in a place where she doesn't know, right? She gets to have a family around her actual family. She gets to live at home where she has grown up and where she has loved and have a family there. And so it looks pretty similar, but maybe it could even look better on that side for someone to say, that would be my will versus having to go over here where I'm going to be hated by some people and I'm going to have to deal with this all by myself and I have only one family member and it's my mother-in-law. But there are some key differences. One of them is that she was able to be a redeemer to Naomi. She was able to remind Naomi that though things were hard and that things were bad, that God never turns his back on you just because things have gotten hard. Because of Ruth's faithfulness to God and to Naomi, then it was able to restore Naomi's faith in God and able to restore Naomi's line and Naomi's land and Naomi's family. She was able to provide that. And even if she was still able to have a family in this other place, when she had this family here, she was able to realize and understand the joys and just God's great and immense goodness and faithfulness to his people by realizing that in this place where I never should have been able to experience these joys, the Lord has just allowed me to just because he's good and just because he can. I think the biggest difference between having a family in Moab and leaving Naomi and having a family in Israel and sticking with Naomi and being able to redeem that line comes actually at the very tail end of Ruth. For anyone in here who has read Ruth, what you might know or what you might remember is that the book of Ruth doesn't end with Ruth's story. The book of Ruth ends with a genealogy. And so let's jump into there and then talk about why maybe that's cool. So if you will, we're going to jump back in. We're going to generations of Perez. Perez fathered Hezron. Hezron fathered Ram. Ram fathered Ammonadab. Yep. Ammonadab fathered Nishon. Nishon fathered Salmon. Salmon fathered Boaz. Boaz fathered Obed. Obed fathered Jesse. Jesse fathered David. If you hear that, or if you read that, and you get to thinking, you're right, it is that David. David, the great, the chosen great king, greatest king that Israel ever had, that David, the chosen great king, greatest king that Israel ever had, that David is the David that the line of David was continued by the fact that Boaz and Ruth had this kid that seemed like such a miraculous birth. For our Bible scholars who are like, wait, isn't the line of David also the line of Jesus? Yep. When you go into the New Testament, as you read the genealogy of Jesus, of how the birth of Jesus came to be based on generations prior, you get to see Boaz and Obed in that genealogy. It's a beautiful story. Ruth is an unbelievable story. It's awesome to see and to be able to express. Look at the joys and the goodness of God when we're able to live faithfully for him. But I believe that the true and ultimate significance of Ruth and the main point and what Ruth is truly trying to teach us because of this genealogy is this, is that God's will is eternally focused and therefore every step of obedience taken in faith is eternally significant. All of those tiny little steps taken. Ruth just growing up and being the, growing up into the woman that she is. Boaz growing up into the faith that he has. Naomi continuing to love God and to remain faithful to him regardless of what happens. Ruth leaves and goes. She goes into a random field. It's Boaz's. She asks Boaz to be a redeemer. He is. She has a son. All small, beautiful things, just small steps of obedience that led to three people being able to have just significant lives that just meant the world to their hearts. But the Lord used these small, insignificant people, this small, seemingly insignificant story to write creation and to write eternity through his faithfulness. This is where Jesus comes from, is this small little story. And what I'm here to tell you and what I'm here to argue is that the point of this, and I think what we can take from this, is realizing that when we do the same, that when we choose in the big and in the small steps to continue to take those steps of faith, to take those small, those medium, and those large steps of obedience in what God has called us and asked us to do every day, that every one of those steps are being used not simply so you can experience the joys and goodness of God, but so that anyone and everyone can for futures and for generations to come. And as I thought about this, and as I was just so, whoa, hello, as I was so overwhelmed by this truth and how incredible and beautiful it was, I began to think about what is an illustration that works well, that kind of makes way and makes it this fully understood. And as I was thinking about it, and I promise, this came out like completely randomly. It had nothing to do with today. And so like, shout out to the Lord and his grace. And if you don't believe me, you can ask me the story I was originally going to use, but I thought there really is no illustration better to describe what this means than motherhood. Because what is motherhood besides these small, medium, and large steps of staying faithful to your kid, loving your kid with everything that you have, serving them, cleaning up, telling them to do things, enacting your will, enacting your values and teaching them and driving them to church and sharing your faith with them and your experiences and reading with them, reading scripture and praying with them, driving them to youth group, but all of the other things as well, choosing to bite your tongue or choosing to choose kindness and to serve others so that they will see you and that hopefully they will do the same. All of these small and monotonous steps of motherhood that are taken, and it's like, I don't know if these are worth it or not because I'm never thanked for it except for one time when my kid shouts me out on Instagram, and it's only on the 24-hour story page because I'm not cool enough to get the full one that stays. That one was for my mom in particular. She hates those things. She's like, where did they go? I don't know. But if you ask a mom why, why do you do these things? You're so seldom thanked. They so seldom feel deserved. These kids don't deserve you. They just walk all over you. Why do you do all of these things even though it doesn't seem like the reciprocity is much? And they'll tell you because the joys that come from being a mother, the joys that come from having a son or having a daughter and being able to have a relationship with this person that I love so dearly is worth it. And the joys and the goodness are far greater than simply sometimes that it's difficult, and sometimes I have to step out of my comfort zone to just be a mom. And that is truly and wholly significant, but what I'm here to tell you as well, and as all of us know, the main joys of motherhood are the fact that everything that you're planting and everything that you're instilling within your kids all the way up as they grow up and all of the values and everything that you care about and trying to make them care about those things and trying to make them love the church and make them love the Lord and make them want to serve and love the Lord, you're setting them up to become adults and to do those same things. And as I think about my mom, I think about the fact that I'm so thankful for my relationship with her. We have a family who luckily is just super close and super loving, and all of that is great. But when I think about the true impact of her motherhood, it's far greater than just that I've grown up to love her. The true impact is the fact that now, as I do ministry and as I live my life, I pursue and I love God in the ways that she taught me to. And I minister and I love people and I serve people by the ways that she taught and by the ways that I was able to see evident in her life. And then when I have kids, hopefully one day, then I will instill the things that she instilled into me. And for that reason, the effects that she had as a mother go far beyond the fact that it blessed my heart. And it goes generations to come and it goes out wide and it stretches out because I'm also now able to be up here and talk to all of you about it. And so now you get to go and part of what my mom did for me, now you're taking out as you go today. And it goes generations deep because now I'm instilling those things into my kids. And I'm here to tell you that that is how stepping out in faith and that is how being obedient to God works. On this side of heaven, we probably will never be able to fully see or fully understand the ripples of what it means and of what it looks like of the ways that we stepped out in faith. But I promise you that we're there. And so we embrace those things. We embrace the things like going to church and reading our Bible and having quiet time. And as parents, we bring our kids to church and we want them to know the things that we love and what we value and that we love the Lord and teaching them how to seek after the Lord as well. And we show up to small groups and we open up in small groups, even though it's weird and it's uncomfortable because maybe it's going to benefit somebody. And we just show love to people. We choose kindness with every person that we interact with. We serve people. We look for ways that we can serve the people around us, and we just live out small, medium, and large, however ways, no matter how big or small or insignificant they may seem, when we take those steps and we say, I'm going to be Christ-like today. And in those big steps and in those small steps, God is using every one of them. I can promise you that God is never wasting his will and he's never wasting a chance for his will and his glory to be revealed through everything that we do. If we solely look at God's will for our lives through the lens of how it impacts the and they're wonderful. But God takes each and every story and each and every goodness that he gives us and uses them as a part of his eternal plan. And for this reason, our stories of God's goodness are more significant than simply what they mean to us. He is using us. He's using our stories. He's using our faithfulness to him to shape and to impact all of eternity. So today, won't you choose to be a part of that significance? Won't you choose to just take that next step of faith, to take that small step of obedience? Because I promise you the ripples that will come from it, the impact that will come from it are more than you could ever ask or imagine. Let's pray. God, we thank you for your goodness. God, we thank you that just because you can and just because you are who you are, we get to experience your joys and your goodness that we don't deserve them. And God, I pray and I thank you that every time, every single time that we step out in faith, God, that you are using it for your plan and for your worldly, eternal kingdom's will. God, I pray that we never forget that, that every single moment that we choose you, we are choosing to have eternal significance in our actions and in our deeds. Lord, we love you so much. Amen.