Ruth And Boaz (Part 2)

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Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio, with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Abendroth.

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Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with No Compromise.

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Remember God's compassion towards Israel? Don't cut corners, no do cut corners.

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We tell our people not to cut corners at work. Cut corners so poor people can go to the corner of the field and get some grain.

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And by the way, if you're picking up something that you've harvested, and you hold onto it and one slips down, don't pick it up, let somebody come along and glean it and pick it up.

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She must have been taught this by Naomi and Moab. She knows to go out, and it says in verse three, remember, and it happened, she happened by chance, she chanced by chance, is the literal

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Hebrew, it's very ironic, it's hyperbole. She just by dumb luck happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.

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And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, by the way, the first thing that someone says in scripture is often very important.

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What's the first thing that he says? It's going to tell us something significant about the person. The Lord Yahweh be with you.

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This isn't a cheap platitude. This isn't some kind of greeting, hello, nice to meet you,

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Yahweh be with you. Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is this?

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And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, she's a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

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She said, she knew she didn't deserve it or she wasn't allowed, she wasn't an

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Israelite, she asked nicely, please let me glean, let me pick up the scraps and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.

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So she came and she continued from early in the morning until now, except for a short break. And now we come to our passage this morning, you're going to see the kind Boaz, the redeemer, kindly taking care of her, kindly protecting her.

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Keep your eye on Boaz. And Boaz said to Ruth, now listen, my daughter, most commentators think he was much older than she was.

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He was really old, probably in his early fifties, but he's older.

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Now listen, my daughter, and you can, you can sense the terms of endearment. Do not go glean in another field, don't pick up the leftovers in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.

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This direct statement breaks the ice and he's trying to protect her. Here's the big field, lots of different owners.

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And wouldn't it be easy to say the grass is a little bit greener and regularly people would be in one section and they would say, you know what?

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They're not dropping enough. They're not cutting the corners like they should. Let's go to another one. And Boaz is saying, don't go down there.

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Don't go over there. You're going to be tempted to do that and wander over. Keep close. Do you notice the text?

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But keep close to my young women. That's the same word used in chapter one, verse 14 of Ruth clinging to Naomi.

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That's husbands and wives glued together, clinging to one another. Why should you stay next to these young ladies?

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Because it's the days of the judges and everyone does what was right in their own eyes.

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And you're a young woman without any protection. You better be careful. Verse nine, let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping and go after them.

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Stick with them. Have I not charged the young men of my part of the field not to touch you?

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And some have written, rightfully so. This is the first sexual harassment law.

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What do you mean? I've charged the young men not to touch you, naga in Hebrew, to touch, to strike, to harass, to molest.

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Here are these young ladies out there. They have no protection. You've got a bunch of rough men and guys.

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Clearly Boaz means stay close to the people. My people are going to get raped.

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I've told my young men not to. Remember in first Corinthians chapter seven, it's not good for a man to touch a woman.

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This is not like they're going to come up and say, excuse me, Naomi, that's not that kind of touch. And you can see the narrator is making sure that we understand that the line of David can't be tampered with.

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As Abraham had Sarah thrown to the wolves of Abimelech, but God protecting and overriding so Abimelech wouldn't sleep with Sarah.

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You just see this redeemer protecting and providing. Don't wander off where I can't protect you.

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I can protect you here. Verse nine, but it's more than that. It's not just protection, it's provision.

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How great is this kind redeemer? How personally he takes care of people, individual people, foreign people.

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And when you're thirsty, verse nine, go to the vessels and drink what the men have drawn. Now when we're thirsty, we just go, we go over to the

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New England bubbler and we just drink, don't we? Those are the two interesting, most interesting things when I moved here almost 18 years ago.

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People said the bubblers right down the hall, pretty, pretty interesting. Now I'm in California and I say, where's the bubbler?

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And the other thing I noticed, since it's apropos today, everybody got saved at the

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Super Bowl. I'd meet a young person, they're 17 years old. Are you right with God?

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How'd you come to faith in Christ Jesus? Yes, pastor, I got saved at the Super Bowl. One after another after another.

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And I thought, the building doesn't look too rich, but I think the people are.

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They're all saved at the Super Bowl. One day they're going to invite me to the Super Bowl too. Maybe I'll rededicate my life to Christ.

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Of course, they meant the word of life, Super Bowl. They didn't mean the real Super Bowl. For us, it's not that big a deal.

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When you're thirsty, you go to the bubbler. It's a hot scorching sun and you've got clay jars and you've got goat material filled with water.

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Whenever you want to go have a drink, go get a drink and look at what happens. Drink what the young men have drawn. Hey, the pecking order doesn't work that way.

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Foreigners draw for the Israelites. Pecking order one. Pecking order two. Sorry, ladies.

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It's the Near East, thousands of years ago. The women draw for the men.

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You can just see Boaz. I'm going to protect you. I'm going to watch over you, food, water, everything.

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I'll do it. Then you back up a little bit and you say, look at how God is sovereignly, providentially orchestrating everything because we need

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David and we need the Messiah. Expect a miracle. No miracles in Ruth.

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No signs, no wonders, no floating axe heads, but expect providence because we're moving along providentially.

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You can have whatever you want. Have a drink any time you want. What kindness the

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Redeemer gives. Verse 10, and she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, why have

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I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I'm a foreigner?

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I'm a woman. I'm a poor woman. I'm a poor widowed woman. I'm a poor widowed woman who's a foreigner.

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Why would you show any kindness to me? This isn't right and it kind of goes against our sensibilities, but she was very thankful and if you want to show your thankfulness, you get down on your knees and say thank you.

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Overwhelming gratitude expressed with this kind of posture. Seems like an exaggeration to us, but no.

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She gets down on her knees and she says thank you and listen up congregation, don't miss it. You're treating me like, you're treating me like family.

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Don't forget the Redeemer who's closer, redemption in the family line. You're like family to me.

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Why have I found favor? She's dumbstruck. There's surprise in the

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Hebrew language that you would even notice me? To give me favor?

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Single me out? Yeah, the young men, if not directed, they would single me out for something else, but you single me out for favor and protection and water and food.

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It's one thing to have a powerful Redeemer who can rescue nations. It's another thing to say, this man loves me.

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Verse 11, but Boaz answered, this is interesting. All that you have done for your mother -in -law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me.

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Here's what he says, everything that happened in chapter one has been told to me, been told to me.

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What you've done in chapter one, I know about. And how you left your father and your mother and your native land and the false gods and came to a people that you did not know before.

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I know all about who God is and when God saves people, how then those people say no to their false gods and yes to the living

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God. I've heard all about you. God's been compassionate to you. You've been compassionate to Naomi. I've heard it through the

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Bethlehem grapevine. Before I thought, who sang that song? I think Marvin Gaye sang it and Clear, Clearance, Clear, Clearance, John Fogarty.

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Okay. If you don't write things in your notes, I could say Abimidad, but I can't say

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Creedence Clearwater Revival. I heard about all your kindness.

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I don't know what you look like, but I know what you did. I mean, you can get the feel, can't you?

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If someone was an abortion doctor and gets saved and now they're praying for the unborn, somebody important, you'd say, wow, what's going on here?

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And here, though no doctor, she used to worship a false god where you would basically have to give your babies over to them to be burned.

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And now worshiping Yahweh, I've heard about you. And it wasn't just a profession of faith.

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The way you've loved your mother -in -law, I know about this. You're part of the community.

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It's almost like, why wouldn't I love you? You're part of the covenant community worshiping Yahweh. And it's interesting.

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If you look at the verse, verse 11, but Boaz answered her, it can mean he raised his voice a little, not with stern anger, but he raised his voice loud enough saying,

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I will fellowship with you. I will associate with you. I'm not afraid to say this about you, the

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Moabitess. I'll identify with this foreign woman. All this language sounds eerily familiar to Genesis chapter 12, doesn't it?

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And the Lord said to Abram, go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to a land which

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I will show you. Leave it all for Yahweh.

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And friends, as we celebrate communion this morning, what rings in my ears, I'm sorry,

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I was going to go further than this in this passage and finish verse 13, but I cannot. Look back at verse 10.

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Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I'm a foreigner?

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Have you ever asked that of the Lord? Why do you notice me? Why did you save me?

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Why did you give me favor? Why did you notice me? That language, why did I find favor, is of a servant or a submissive one asking someone in authority.

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Why would you have favor on me? Why would you sovereignly do something for me? You can do it if you want to or not do it if you don't want to, but you did it.

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Why? Why do you show good pleasure to me? And if I were to ask you to come up and take the microphone and say, the reason why

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God showed me good pleasure is because I'm more intelligent than other people, would you say that?

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Would you come get the microphone and say, we'll have a little testimony. Why did God save you? Why did God show you favor in Christ Jesus?

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Well, I'm more righteous than my neighbors. Would you say that? You could shoot out of here pretty fast.

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I recognize my need of Christ more than other people did. Would you say that? Well I was baptized, of course, that's why

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God showed me favor. I came up with my own repentance, I came up with my own faith,

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I was a member, I did lots of works. Friends, if you're a Christian, what is the reason why?

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Why did God save you? Fill in the blank. The reason God saved me is, and what's the answer?

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The purpose of my salvation is what? Now, when I go to the beach, it's fun to think about the beach this time of year, isn't it?

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There's just nothing like sitting at the beach, see some waves out there, kids running around laughing, drinking a cup of coffee, coffee at the beach, it just goes together, doesn't it?

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Peach coffee, nice and bitter, couple extra shots of espresso, all kinds of activity, and you hear something out of the corner of your ear, and there's this biplane, and behind the biplane's this huge banner,

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I mean huge, and it comes over and then back, and it's drink Red Bull, right, monster drinks or something, right?

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I don't know, eat Doritos, this huge publicity program, and you're like, yeah, come to think of it,

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I should have a monster drink. Why did God save you?

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And the answer isn't ultimately because He doesn't want me to go to hell, although that's true.

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The answer isn't ultimately because I did anything, because I didn't. Turn your

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Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 7, and let me show you the answer, and the answer is God has a spiritual, righteous, holy, publicity program that goes throughout the ages that says

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God has favor on people because He's a kind Redeemer. The eternal banner,

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Jesus saves sinners throughout all eternity. You say to yourself, Boaz is a sneak peek of the ultimate

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Redeemer. This is amazing. Standing face to face with God, how, why?

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Now, when you go to Ephesians 2, you often say this, if I were to say, what's your favorite verse in Ephesians 2? Most of you would say what?

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By grace, I've been saved. He front loads the word grace. It's not I've been saved by grace, but front loaded by grace,

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I've been saved. Awesome verse. Maybe you say chapter 2, verse 10, God creates good works.

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He prepares them ahead of time that I might what? Walk in them. Awesome. How about Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4, but God rich in what?

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Mercy. I love those verses. And some of you, if you're a Gentile, maybe you even think Genesis, excuse me, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 11 is the best.

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Don't forget you're a Gentile, but we often forget of Ephesians 2, 7.

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Let me read it. And we're just going to park here as we get our hearts ready to celebrate what

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God has done in the person of Christ Jesus at the Lord's table. So that in the coming ages, age after age, after age, after age, why does

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God save anybody that he might show, demonstrate, make conspicuous to show forth the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus throughout all history.

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God's a kind redeemer and then past history, the program of redemption.

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Why does God save anyone? Ask yourself the question, why would you save someone like me?

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Ask yourself the question even further, God, since you know all my sins, why would you then still save me?

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Go back to chapter 2, verse 1. We'll just see the context. I know you are familiar with the passage, but just a quick reminder.

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I think you appreciate your salvation more when you realize how sinful you are, me too.

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And you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world, following the

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Prince of the power of the air, spirit that's now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

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As a reformer said, does anyone know the 100th part of sin that clings to our soul? God saved me because I was worthy to be saved.

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Really? How about God took our unworthiness, placed it on Christ, gave us

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His worth. And look at what chapter 2, verse 4 says.

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I mean, really. Maybe the two most important words in all the Bible, Lloyd -Jones said, but God.

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You know, I'm so rich in sin, is there any God for me being rich in mercy?

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You know what mercy means? Mercy means I see someone who needs something and I'm going to be compassionate to them.

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I don't want to make the illustration go too far, but here's what mercy means. A dog gets hit by a car and is still living and you pull over to the side of the road and you say,

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I'm going to take care of that dog. I can do something for that dog.

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There's something in me that emotionally wants to help that dog. Who's a

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God like you who pardons iniquity? And seriously, if God looks at us and He sees all of our sin and all the

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Ephesians 2, 1 -3 stuff, I can kind of understand mercy. And there's that love of mercy, but love of sacrifice?

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Take a look at the rest of the verse. Because of the great love with which

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He loved us. John Gerstner said, love, impossible, mercy, maybe.

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Perhaps He would even spare us, but what is there to love? Hate, yes, there is plenty of hate.

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Maybe He once loved us or maybe He could have loved us for what we once were, but now we're beyond love.

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Yet God loves. Then He has forgotten who we are, what we have done.

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No, He has not forgotten what you are. He has not overlooked your condition. This is the love which loves when there's nothing to love.

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Why would you have any love for me, a foreigner? The love of God is uninfluenced.

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It's a sovereign love. It sees nothing in the object to love, but loves anyway. Remember with Israel, Deuteronomy 7, the

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Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest, but because the

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Lord loves you. Why does the Lord love us? Because He loves us.

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If I were to teach counsel time at Iwana with kids, I would take two big magnets, and if you put the magnets just right with positive and negative, they go like this, right?

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And when I think I'm really good and worth saving and lovable, then

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I think God's just drawn to me. He's like to His positive to my negative. But to think about chapter 2, verses 1, 2, and 3 and my sin and depravity and all that stuff, it's like negative, and now we've got

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His holiness, and there's nothing I could do to push those two together. So what binds these two things together?

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How can you take sinful man and the holiness of God and have them go together? And we know the answer is the cross,

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Christ Jesus our Lord. God's love is highlighted at Calvary. He didn't die to make

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God love us because He already did love us. This is how we know what love is,

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Jesus Christ, 1 John 3, 16, laid down His life for us.

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Verse 5, even when, Ephesians 2, 5, when we were dead in our trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ, by grace you've been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ.

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Why does God do all this? To be our concierge, God you exist for me, to bless me and to help me, yeah you make me jump through a few hoops, but, no, why does

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God save sinners like us? Because He's decided to love us freely.

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Think about Hosea, don't you love Hosea 13, God you've loved us freely, no other reason except you decide to love us.

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Then you read verse 7 and it seems to make sense when you get verses 1 -6 down, so that in the coming ages,

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He might not share His glory with another. He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness.

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God is a kind Redeemer, He's like Boaz but better, toward us in Christ Jesus.

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God doesn't save us to make us happy. God saves us to show how kind He is and how loving

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He is and who He is. Ephesians 1 -6, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1 -12, to the praise of His glory.

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Ephesians 1 -14, to the praise of my glory. I did it. Hardly, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

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To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Why are you a

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Christian? Answer, because the handiwork of the craftsman demonstrates how great

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God is. To display God's eternal grace.

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Why have you found favor on me since I'm a foreigner? Ultimate answer, to display

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God's gracious love for sinners. That's why we celebrate the

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Lord's Supper, what God did for us. You would like to summarize all the Bible? Here's the summary of the

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Bible, three simple words. God saves sinners. God saves sinners.

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God and God alone, not us. Saves, He rescues, delivers, forgives, justifies, reconciles.

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What God does, He does well. And He saves sinners. Can you imagine the

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Son of God, eternal God, cloaks Himself with humanity to rescue us?

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It's amazing. It's an amazing story. I thought Ruth was full of drama. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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Please, come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 8 .30 and 11 a .m. and Sunday evenings at 6 p .m.

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We're located on Route 110 in West Boylston, Massachusetts. You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org

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or by phone at 508 -835 -3400. The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.