BRINGING CHRIST TO THE WORLD

MISSIONS – BRINGING CHRIST TO THE WORLD

Ruth 4:13-17 (KJV)

So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.

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.

And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.

And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

I just finished reading through the book of Ruth as a part of my Daily Visits with God. By the time I came to the end of the book I realized that this account purposely brings one account from the time of the Judges to the forefront to show, that even in such a difficult time, God was at work to bring Christ to the world.

If you will, it is a Christmas story.

There is, in the account of Ruth:

·   Tragedy

·   Sacrifice

·   Heartache

But all of that is followed by

·   Grace

·   Hope

·   Bliss and

·   Promise

Let’s go to the beginning in chapter 1:1 and I hope to preach a message I have titled, Missions, Bringing Christ to the World.

I confess that the perspective I will present to you this morning is not the typical one.

I have always seen this book 

·   beginning with lack of faith, 

·   leading to sin and that 

·   leading to chastening and pain.

But as I read the account this year, I noticed that we have to make some assumptions to get there.

The Bible never does say that Elimelech had a lack of faith. Neither does it say that it was a sin for him to go to Moab.

We make that leap:

·   Because Abraham left the Promised Land during a famine and we know, in his case, it was a sin

·   Because Elimelech and his sons died and that seems like judgment

·   Because Naomi became bitter and that seems like she might not have agreed with her husband’s decision to leave Bethlehem

Again, I just point out that the Bible nowhere says it was a sin.

So far as Abraham – God’s will was for Joseph to go to Egypt and for Joseph the step father of Jesus to do the same.

So far as Elimelech and the sons dying – are you willing to say that someone dying is always a sign of judgment? I am not.

So far as Naomi becoming bitter – haven’t you ever met a Christian who grew bitter because the will of God for them was not what they expected?

I think I see in this account a missions outreach that resulted in much more than was lost, thee family from which the Messiah came.

Think about this – Naomi has no “blood” relationship with Ruth or Boaz.[1] And yet she nursed the one who became the grandfather of the family of David, who is the father of the family of Jesus.

Allow me to point out the following:

I. A FAMINE IN THE LAND

Ruth 1:1-2 (KJV)

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.

And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

Just what caused the famine is unknown.

It may have been from natural causes, such as 

·   drought, 

·   pestilence, or

·   bugs

Sometimes things just happen. Weather cycles are not strictly our own. They must have had them in those days too.

I wonder if they called them 

·   La Nina and

·   El Nino

It might have been from an enemy invasion

If the Philistines or one of their other enemies had invaded, they may have raided all their food stores and destroyed their crops.

What I do know is that we live in a world of famine.

·   There is a spiritual famine in the world

·   There is a moral famine in the world

·   There is a parental famine in the world

·   There is a biblical famine in the world

People are starving for lack of truth.

·   A Christian to witness to them

·   A believer to be light and salt

·   A preacher to stand for the Bible

·   A missionary to go where others have not

Brother Keck pointed out that, in the 28 years he has been in Papua New Guinea, the population has doubled but the missionaries have not.

I’d just like to point out that the situation isn’t any different right here in the United States.

There is a famine in the land.

And so, for Elimelech and Naomi there were

II. SACRIFICES MADE

Ruth 1:3-5 (KJV)

And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

Let me give you a brief and unresearched account of the sacrifices I know that missionaries have made:

Adoniram Judson – lost not one but two wives while on the missions field of Burma. At one point he became so depressed that people thought he had gone crazy. He was on the field for a decade before he saw his first soul saved.

John and Betty Stam were missionaries in China. Their baby was born just as the Boxer Rebellion got underway. The Stams hid their baby is a dresser drawer from Chinese Christians to sneak away while they were beheaded for their faith.

Jim Elliot along with four other missionaries: Ed McCully, Roger Yoderian, Pete Fleming and Nate Saint were killed while attempting to reach a tribe of natives in Ecuador who had never had a successful contact with a white person, let alone a Christian.

William Borden was the heir to the Borden Milk Company, where we get our condensed milk. His high school graduation gift was a trip around the world. When he returned from that trip he announced that he would give his life for missions. He was disinherited and wrote in Bible “No Reserves.” After completely college, he boarded a ship to the missions field and wrote in his Bible, “No Retreats.” Before he could get to his missions work he became ill. Just before he died he wrote in his Bible, “No Regrets.”

J Oscar Wells surrendered to be a missionary to China as a single man. He and John Birch, graduates of J Frank Norris’ college in Texas, went to China together, two single men. Upon arriving at the mission compound, Wells was introduced to a single young lady there and they were married not long after. About just before Christmas the following year, the Japanese invaded China. Wells and his then pregnant wife were taken as prisoners of war for the duration of WWII. Their daughter, Shannon was born on a ship used to detain prisoners of war.[2]

Obviously these are the stories of those going to foreign fields.

But stories of heroic sacrifice to get the gospel to cities, towns and small communities in the United States are aplenty.

Accounts of faithful church members who have given of their time, talentsand treasures to reach their neighbors, workmates and people of their community abound.

I ask you, are these sacrifices wasted?

I say, No. They are not wasted.

Naomi returned home wounded to be sure. Bitter of soul, no doubt. But when she returned she had,

III. RUTH WITH HER

Ruth 1:6-22 (KJV)

Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

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;

Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

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.

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:

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.

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

So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

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?

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

Would you notice especially Ruth 1:16-17 (KJV)

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:

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.

Ruth’s life was radically, completely, eternally changed because Elimelech took his wife and two sons out of the Promised Land.

Because of their sacrifice Ruth had

A. A new home 

for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge

B. A New family

thy people shall be my people

C. A New God

and thy God my God

D. A New Eternity

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

Conclusion

I am reminded of the value of just one soul.

·   Elimelech and his family left Bethlehem four people, 

·   Naomi returned just two.

Were three souls given in exchange for just one?

Only if you refuse to see the future.

Ruth’s newfound faith and family would result in

·   The most important king who has ever lived and

·   The one and only Saviour mankind has even needed

The sacrifice of those three is responsible for the salvation countless souls, past, present and future.

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[1] As the kinsman redeemer, his relation would have been to Elimelech.

[2] Wells later planted and pastored Southwest Baptist Church in OKC, now the mother church of Heartland Baptist Bible College. The last photograph ever taken of Wells was taken by my wife of him with my sons, Bohannan and Caleb. His daughter Shannon became an astronaut and holds the record of the longest time in space of any female.