Sermon Tone Analysis

TBKC -

!! Dr. David Jeremiah

!!!! McGee’s Commentary up through chapter TWO

McGee’s Tapes – The Romance of Redemption

The Heart of  Hebrew History – Hester

A Book by Book Study of the OT – Shelly

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the OT

Dwight Pentecost’s Tapes UP through tape 2, side 1

Teacher’s Commentary

MacArthur Study Bible

Wycliffe’s Commentary

DELITZCH & KEIL

 

 

 

Credit to Tom Shepard

 

*Five Practical Ways** To Show Your Love To Others* \\ \\ A couple that had been married for 50 years sat reflecting one day.

The wife said, “Things have really changed over the years.

You used to sit real close to me.

But you haven’t done that for a while.”

“Well I can fix that.” said the man as he got up and moved closer to his wife.

\\ \\ “You used to hold me real tight.” said the wife.

So the man wrapped his arms around his wife and asked, “How’s that?” \\ \\ She continued to say, “You used to nuzzle my neck and nibble on my ear lobes.”

At that the man jumped up from the couch and dashed out of the room.

When he returned she asked him where he had been.

“I had to go get my teeth.”

Was the reply.

\\ \\

There are all sorts of ways to show our love for one another aren’t there?

The other day, Darlene was watching the story of Ruth on TV and it stirred up my memories of when we studied the book together here a few years ago in VBS.

Since then I have had the opportunity to teach it on more than one occasion.

It is a love story on many levels (even though the word, “/love”/ is not in the book) and it is one of my favorite books in the Bible.

One type of love that we see in the book is a love of friendship and that is what we want to talk about this morning.

I give credit to a fellow named Tom Shepard for a large part of this sermon.

Many of the thoughts are his.

Turn if you will to Ruth 1:16-18 and let’s stand and read together.

* *

*Ruth 1:16-18 (KJV) \\ **16**And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee,/ or/ to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people/ shall be/ my people, and thy God my God: 17**Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also,/ if ought/ but death part thee and me.

18**When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.*

 

[Let’s Pray]

 

This evening we look at one of the most famous pledges in the Bible (or any other literature).

If ever there was a time when we needed some good practical ways to show love to one another, it is now.

So, here in the book of Ruth we see 5 Practical Ways to show the love of friendship to one another.

\\ Tell the story of Ruth and Naomi.

\\ Famine in the land of Bethlehem Judah (House of bread and praise) as a result of the disobedience of the people

And you know how important the city of Bethlehem is in Christianity.

\\ Move – But, you cannot escape the discipline of God by running - And they became a prodigal family – Four go out but four will not return – They went to where the people were traditionally enemies of Israel.

\\ Husband dies \\ Sons marry \\ Sons die \\ \\

So then…

\\ Naomi (meaning, “pleasant” or “happiness”) is left alone – bitter and heart broken.

She sees no hope for the future of her daughters in law so she tells them that they might as well go on back to their own people.

There is no hope for the future for them.

No hope fro marriage unless something miraculous happens.

So…One daughter-in-law leaves but Ruth makes that statement that we see there in 1:16-17.

\\ \\ So, the first thing that we see from Ruth’s example is that -

\\ *1.

You show love by sticking with someone through tough times.

\\ \\ *

Three times her mother-in-law had tried to get her stay behind.

Ruth had the opportunity to go back as the other daughter-in-law had done.

But, Ruth wanted to go with Naomi.

Christians, let me ask you – What make people stick together in hard times?

For Ruth and Naomi there was a bond that was even stronger than love.

We have no reason to think that Ruth loved Naomi more than more than Orpah did.

But, there was a bond between Ruth and Naomi that was not there between Orpah and Naomi.

What was this bond?

As we will see in verse 16, Ruth and Naomi shared a faith in the God of Abraham.

You and I have a common bond in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are exhorted over and over to show our love for one another.

\\ Ruth said she would stick with Naomi through thick or thin.

No matter what happened, Ruth would stay by Naomi’s side.

\\ \\

We have folks here who I believe would do almost anything for one their brothers and sisters in Christ.

\\ You show love by sticking with someone through tough times and in Proverbs we read that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Wither thou goest, I will go.

I am sticking with you,

 

Wither thou lodgest, I will lodge

            I am going to place myself in the poverty that you have warned me about.

Thy people shall be my people

            I choose your people over my own.

And then of course….

Thy God shall be my God

            I choose your God.

Whatever Naomi’s future was to be, so it was going to be for Ruth.

And then….

\\ *2.

You show love by adjusting to others.*

\\ \\ “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” v.16 \\ \\

She was going to have to be like Abram in a way.

She was going to have to leave her homeland and all of her idols behind as she went to this new land.

Ruth was going to have to make some huge adjustments if she was going to stay with her mother in law.

Do you know the reasons that most marriages fail?

I believe it is because there is not enough adjusting to others.

Now, do not get me wrong, there are some folks who do everything they can to adjust to their partner but it is not enough.

Nevertheless,

I am convinced that people who have been married know more about adjusting to others than people who have never been married.

When you get married there are many adjustments that have to be made.

What you eat

                        Where you spend your time.

Whose house you spend the holidays at.

Whose traditions you follow

 

But, one of the ways that you show love to your new spouse is by making those adjustments.

Ruth said that in order to show how much she loved Naomi, she was willing to make these adjustments.

And then….

*3.

You show love by reaching beyond your comfort zones.*

On a Saturday afternoon, I married an 18 year old kid who had never been away from home and in less than a week she was in Montana.

Montana was not in her comfort zone but she loved me, so she went.

That was a temporary trip that we were making.

But…