THE BEST IS YET TO COME
BIBLE PASSAGE: RUTH 4:1-22
NOVEMBER 17, 2019
MEMORY VERSE
But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9
INTRODUCTION:
When women enter marriage,
the path of building a family, no one would say “I want to be an ungodly
mother” and of course everyone has tried to be godly in their own ways. There’s
a quote says, “The life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they
do go there”. It’s like when we want to see the beautiful place of Baguio,
we’ll experience slippery curves, dark mist and hairpin turns that make you go
backwards in order to go forwards. But along this hazardous, twisted road that
doesn’t let you see very far ahead there are frequent signs that say, “The Best
is Yet to Come”. If you try your best to be a godly mother with God’s grace,
the best is yet to come for you. If you have past mistakes being a mother and
you decide to follow God’s will, the best is yet to come for you. May this
lesson give you inspiration to keep on and follow God’s will in our family.
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. NAOMI COMPROMISED (RUTH 1:1-4, 15,21)
Being
a Christian mother what do you think is your influence on your husband to make
your family grow as a Christian family? Another thing, what is the most
important decision we should avoid doing in order our family not to take the
risk spiritually? In Ruth 1:1 says, “Now it
came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the
land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of
Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons”; What was the risk Naomi and family did? It is comprising; how she
compromised? Naomi compromised her spiritual priorities. When famine
came in the land, she did not continue in difficulties. Most mothers easily get
upset when financial problems come in the family and sometimes this may cause
to make desperate decisions even it may suffer the spiritual growth of the
family. We don’t judge mothers for their influence in the decisions, but they
should be sensitive to God’s will. Naomi and the family were enticed by
well-watered plains of Moab which is very risky because Moab worshipped the god
Chemosh. Naomi and family left the Promised Land “Ephrathites of Bethlehem,
Judah” (Ruth 1:2). Not just she compromised her spiritual priorities, she
compromised her commitment to the Lord. When Ruth, her daughter-in-law
wanted to go with Naomi, she directed her to return to her foreign god. Ruth
1:15 says, “And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her
people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law”. The third
compromising issue Naomi did, she compromised her family influence
especially when her husband died. Her son, Chilion, married outside the faith
(1:4). This is the most painful decision mothers could see to their dearest son
or sons that is to be married to unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). If we were
in this kind of situations, remember God can mend everything just go to Him. In
Ruth 1:21 Naomi says, “I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home
again empty”. Naomi criticized God’s provision for her.
If you notice in Naomi’s life situation is not extra ordinary
or unusual in Christian’s journey; it happens since then and especially in this
modern time. Family is in the heart of
God and also this is the apple of the eye of the enemy because church is
composed of families as well. When enemy enters in the family, it will cause a
great impact to each one’s spiritual life.
2. NAOMI’S REPENTANCE WAS SEEN IN HER
ACTIONS (RUTH 1:21)
“I went out full
and the Lord hath
brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath
testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?”
In Ruth 1:21, Naomi recognized God’s
punishment, “seeing the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty
hath afflicted me”. During problems and trials, it’s the best that each one can
see the hand of the Lord and have that discernment which the God, the Holy
Spirit tells you something for realization. We can see her repentance when Naomi
gave her counsel toward family heritage. When Ruth “happened” on Boaz’s
field, Naomi said, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his
kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is
near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen”. Naomi
counseled toward redemption, “My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee,
that it may be well with thee?” (Ruth 3:1). Naomi saw their situations and especially
Ruth’s; she’s extremely poor, lonely, bereaved, homeless and portionless widow.
Naomi’s concern for Ruth to have redemption from their poor situation gave
Naomi hope with Boaz. Almost all women want to have security in life especially
in choosing a husband. And in Ruth 3:18, Naomi counseled patience and trust
“Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the
man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day”.
Naomi’s actions like in recognizing God is control of everything, her
mentioning God’s hand on a situation and including God in her counsels show how
sorry she was. In this situation of Naomi shows that whatever mistakes we did, however
miserable our life is, God can put things in order just recognize and ask God
for forgiveness.
3. THE BLESSING TO NAOMI AS GRANDMOTHER (RUTH
4:14-15)
“And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord,
which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be
famous in Israel. And
he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age:
for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven
sons, hath born him.”
Have
you heard or experienced on how grandmothers show their love to their
grandsons? It’s unexplainable and this was what happened to Naomi. When her
grandson, Obed, came what were the blessings:
a)
The child gave grandmother Naomi a purpose in life.
Naomi had been a compromiser but became a woman of conviction. Ruth 1: 20 shows
that she had no spiritual energy, “Call me
not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me”.
Also remember that Naomi’s husband and sons left her, and she became hopeless;
she said, “Turn again, my daughters, go your
way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I
should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons” (1:21) but
God gave her hope; 4:15a says, “..he (Obed)shall be unto thee a restorer of thy
life and a nourisher of thine old age..”
b)
Naomi had the responsibility of influencing the child.
In Ruth 4:15, “And Naomi took the child, and laid
it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.” Naomi was given a chance to
rear a son. A rich man like Boaz would have a maid for children but he got
Naomi and that is amazing especially to a grandmother like Naomi. After pains, hurts
and sufferings, she recovered from rearing a grandson.
c)
Naomi is given more importance in the Bible than Ruth.
The women blessed Naomi, Ruth 4:14 says, “And
the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee
this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel”. The child, Obed, is recognized as “kin” to Naomi. And
Naomi had oversight for the child’s care (4:16).
d) The child is identified with his grandmother (not father or grandfather) – Though Obed is not in legal
line through Naomi and Elimelech (4:21), the child was identified with his
grandmother. Ruth 4:17 says, “And the women her neighbours gave it a name,
saying, There is a son born to Naomi”. Obed became famous in Israel
(4:14), he was the great grandfather of Daniel and Obed comes in two words:
Obadiah, a worshipper of God and Obed, a servant. Obed was a true servant and
worshipper of the Lord.
CONLUSION:
Naomi criticized
God’s provision, and this is sometimes how we act especially in desperate
situations. We wonder and start to question why these things happen to us. In
our memory verse today, 1 Corinthians 1:29 says, “But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. This shows that
though our senses don’t really perceive and understand God’s hands in trials
and crisis but there are things we couldn’t see; the value and beauty of those
things which God has prepared for His people.
The book of
Ruth wants to teach us that God's purpose for the life of his people is to
connect us to something far greater than ourselves. God wants us to know that
when we follow him, our lives always mean more than we think they do. For the
Christian there is always a connection between the ordinary events of life and
the stupendous work of God in history. Everything we do in obedience to God, no
matter how small, is significant. It is part of a cosmic mosaic which God is
painting to display the greatness of his power and wisdom to the world and to
the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians
3:10). The
deep satisfaction of the Christian life is that it is not given over to nothing.
Serving a widowed mother-in-law, gleaning in a field, falling in love, having a
baby—for the Christian these things are all connected to eternity. They are
part of something so much bigger than they seem.
The life of the
godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there—God sees to it.
There is a hope for us beyond the cute baby and the happy grandmother. If there
weren't, we would be of all men most miserable. The story points forward to
David. David points forward to Jesus. And Jesus points forward to the
resurrection of our mortal bodies (Romans
8:23) when
"death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor
pain any more, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation
21:4).
The best is yet
to come. That is the unshakable truth about the life of the woman and the man
who follow Christ in the obedience of faith. We can say it to the young who are
strong and hopeful, and we can say it to the old, for whom the outer nature is
quickly wasting away. THE BEST IS YET TO COME.
Before this
lesson ends,
There was a young woman who had been
diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So
as she was getting her things in order, she contacted her Pastor and had him
come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the
service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be
buried in. Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when
the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said
excitedly.
"What's that?" came the Pastor's
reply.
"This is very important," the young
woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not
knowing quite what to say.
"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the
young woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the
request," said the Pastor.
The young woman explained. "My grandmother
once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass
along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement.
In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when
the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean
over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that
something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple
pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!"
So, I just want people to see me there in that
casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the
fork?" Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork ..the best is
yet to come."
The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as
he hugged the young woman goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times
he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a
better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would
be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and
knowledge. She knew that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the young
woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in
her right hand. Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, "What's with
the fork?" And over and over he smiled.
During his message, the Pastor told the people
of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He
also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the
people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they
probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.
He was right. So, the next time you reach down
for your fork let it remind you, ever so gently, that THE BEST IS YET TO
COME.
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