Title: Overcome Failure/Ruth 4:13-17
Contents
Overcome failure / Ruth 4:13-17
The book of Ruth, the Bible we read and love, shows a very dramatic situation like a short story.
In this Bible we meet a person named Naomi.
She emigrates to the land of Moab due to a famine in Bethlehem, where she experiences great sorrow and failure.
There she lost her husband and two sons.
However, here we do not want to focus on Naomi's failures and sorrows, but rather on how she overcame those great failures and sufferings.
Rather than sinking into failure, we will thoroughly explore the cause of failure and think about how we overcame failure through the Word.
First, we would like to examine why Naomi's assumption failed.
First, the choice of housing failed.
No matter how difficult it was, the decision to emigrate to the land of Moab where Gentiles live was too hasty.
In order to avoid the pain in front of me, I first went to the land of Moab, where I live well, but the famine in the land of Moab brought me to a more dire situation. That's right. It is really dangerous to choose a living environment easily because the environment is difficult right now. We are Christians. Our living environment and career choices are very important. Therefore, we must choose our faith as more important than our convenient living environment or occupation.
Second, it fails to select people.
At that time, in Jewish society, it was not possible to marry a foreign woman. But she takes a Moabite woman as her daughter-in-law. We must carefully choose our spouses, our neighbors and our friends. This does not mean that we should discriminate against those who do not believe in Jesus. We should not discriminate against people, but we must know how to differentiate them. So, you need to know how to differentiate. God's wisdom is needed to make the distinction at this time. We need to pray more and listen to what Jesus said we are to be wise as serpents.
Third, we fail to choose our faith.
There was no place to worship God in the land of Moab. There was no community of faith that worshiped God.
Some people say you can worship wherever you are without going to church. That makes sense, but is it really? It's a voice that doesn't know human weakness. When we are struggling and weak, we need a community of faith. We need a community of faith that helps us in our weakness, guides us, and supports us. This is the reason why we should be with friends of faith.
Therefore, worship is more important than anything else. Worship is the root of all our ministry, including service, service, evangelism, and Bible study. If we believe in God, we cannot miss worship. We value worship the most.
Now how does Naomi overcome these failures?
First, Naomi leaves the scene of failure.
As in Ruth 1:7, she decides to leave the land of Moab. You must leave where you no longer need to stay. We must humbly admit our failures and turn to God. We all know the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. It was a precious courage for Naomi to return to Bethlehem. From her point of view, it would be very difficult to go back to bankruptcy with a foreigner daughter-in-law. But she will come back. We all know the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. He was wasting everything, and he was filling his stomach with pig-eaters. He regrets seeing his situation. But this is not repentance. True repentance is leaving there and returning to the Father.
Dear all!
We must leave where we have failed. When we pray humbly before God, the Holy Spirit will show us what caused us to fail. We must courageously leave the field of failure.
Second, Naomi submits to God's providence.
In Ruth 1:20, Naomi confesses, "The Almighty has afflicted me exceedingly." And looking at verse 21, she confesses, "The Lord has made me empty and has punished me." She understands her failure as God's work. You are adapting to your own failures. God's discipline was due to my fault, and we can see Naomi's humility to comply thoroughly with it.
Third, Naomi met people well.
If we failed because we made the wrong choice of people, we will recover when we meet people well. Who was the greatest comfort to Naomi when she lost her two sons and her husband? It was Ruth. Ruth was the second daughter-in-law and was a Moabite woman.
However, through Ruth's confession (1:16-17), we can get a glimpse of Naomi's faith and Ruth's faith that grew out of it. Ruth, a foreign woman, met God through her mother, Naomi, and came to believe in God. Even though I failed to choose a person, if that person truly sees and meets God in my image, even if I made a wrong choice, if that person becomes a person of God, that person will become a precious person of God to me.
With that person, my home and work can be transformed and restored.
Above all, the biggest reason that Naomi overcame this failure is that God allowed her to overcome it.
It was God's work that Naomi went to the land of Moab, that Naomi met Ruth, that she returned to Bethlehem, that Ruth met Boaz while gleaning. It was God's providence.
Then, I would like to summarize the contents of the blessings we receive when we are restored like this (Ruth 4:13-17).
First, Ruth became the wife of Boaz, and the Lord made her conceive and bore a son. Ruth gave birth to a blessed son by the grace of God.
Second, it became a source of praise for all women. In verse 14, all the women are praising God for Naomi. How sad will their hearts be when God's family is bankrupt? However, when the family is restored, if it can show the existence of God through it, it is truly indescribable joy. That's right. If we, too, have other people glorifying God because of us, what could be more satisfying than that? That is the greatest blessing.
Third, He makes us a blessed ancestor.
People say that Naomi gave birth to Ruth's son, which may have nothing to do with Naomi. In this way, God gives Naomi a generation through Ruth and makes her a blessed ancestor. It is she who makes David the father of David. Obed, the son of Ruth, becomes David's grandfather.
In this way, God restores Naomi's family in all aspects of material, honor, and faith.
Dear all!
Through today's message, I would like to ask you two things. The question is how much we depend on God when we fail. We must hold fast to the lifeline of God. We must hold onto the rope and cling to God. In other words, we must go to God more earnestly and pray. And I have to be decisive in what I can do. It's a small thing, but it's all about doing your best.
At that time, I am sure that our families will enjoy the blessing of restoration just like Naomi's family.