Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, I have a question for you. Who in here has ever been on an awkward first date? I think we may have all been there before, right, had that awkward first date. Now I gotta confess I'm very lucky because I never had to experience the first date okay With someone I didn't already know. I've only ever dated two people in my life and the second person I dated well, I ended up marrying her, so that worked out good for me, okay. But I never had that awkward first date where you had to go to a movie and meet someone you didn't really know and not really sit next to them with a bowl of popcorn or have your friends try to connect you with someone and you didn't really know them. I never had that. But, however, my wife Erin has had that experience before and she's had that awkward first date, and she told me a story that's pretty crazy, okay.

Speaker 1: 0:55

So back when she was in college, a couple of her friends connected her with this guy. They said, oh, you're gonna love him, he's awesome, he's great. And so they go out on a date. They go to a restaurant this is the first time they meet each other at this restaurant and Aaron says, as they first time meet each other. The first time they meet, he begins to talk and he unloads all of his childhood trauma on her, every detail of it. And Aaron, who's watched Law Order SVU her entire life, said this is how these stories happen, right here. This is the beginning of it. And so he unloaded. Eventually, the date was over, but then the guy proceeded to kind of stalk Aaron and randomly show up to her dorm unannounced and uninvited, and she was like no, this is not good. Eventually, over time, the guy got the memo, aaron wasn't interested anymore and he went away.

Speaker 1: 1:48

But talk about an awkward first date, right? That could be kind of weird. Needless to say, it could be awkward. Now, one question I get asked from time to time is this People ask me they say Jacob, jacob, do you think online dating is a godly form to meet people? Do you think that's a good way to meet people? Now, I have to say I've seen people meet through online dating and I got to say some of my best friends met their spouse through online dating. So I actually think it is good with wisdom Come on, that's the key word with wisdom and discernment, all right. So, needless to say, though, all this. Dating can be hard. You may be like Jacob. Why are you talking about dating? What does this have to do?

Speaker 1: 2:31

Okay, we are going to continue our summer Bible study where we're looking through the book of Ruth, and last week we talked about when Ruth met Boaz and how there's this relationship that began to happen. Ruth met Boaz and how there's this relationship that began to happen. This week. What we're going to do is we're going to watch as Ruth, who's a widow, gets to know Boaz, who is a man of standing. His name means strong, he's a man of integrity, and we're going to watch them get to know each other and see principles that can help us date wisely. And if you're married in here today if you're married can strengthen your marriage Can strengthen your marriage, okay, so we're going to dive into that today, all right.

Speaker 1: 3:17

So principle for today is this we are all shopping for the type of person we want Always. We're always looking for someone that can connect with us and our spouse. We want our spouses to be able to connect with us. What, emotionally, mentally, physically we want that in a dating, if we're still in a dating season of our lives. That's what we're looking for. Why, you know, but here you go. I would suggest that, instead of just looking for what you want to get from someone, I would suggest that you start to look at what you can give someone. What can you give someone, and why is this so important? Because you don't just attract what you want, you tend to attract what you are. You tend to attract what you are. Boaz is checking Ruth out and what we're going to see is four things that happen. We're going to see these four things that happen as they begin to connect. The first one is they're seeking character. We see that Ruth and Boaz are seeking character, they're exploring connection, they're showing consideration and then they're receiving confirmation. And I want to break down each of these one by one, but first let's begin to understand the context. Okay, we've got to understand the context.

Speaker 1: 4:24

Boaz, who is a land owner, he's a lover of God, he's a good leader, he's kind and he's generous. And Ruth is a little bit surprised by his generosity and his kindness. She's taken aback and she's wondering why is he being so kind to me? Let's check this out. Ruth 2 says this At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him why have I found such favor in your eyes, why that you have noticed me, a foreigner. You can almost see she's a little bit insecure, a little bit surprised. And what I love about the text is this when Boaz is looking at Ruth, there is zero mention of him being just physically attracted to her. It's not like Boaz saw Ruth and said, wow, that's a good looking girl right there. No, no, he was interested in the inside of her. He was interested, what I would say, in her character, and we see that Boaz is a person who is seeking character.

Speaker 1: 5:23

First Check this out. His reply is this he says I've been told all about what you've done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother in your homeland and came to live with the people you did not know before. He's saying I heard that you stopped worshiping the false God, that you left Moab and came with your mother-in-law to Bethlehem and you turned to the one true God and worshiped Him, and that you were loyal to your mother-in-law and that you are not a victim, meaning that you're not sitting back going. Someone should take care of me. I'm a victim, all these bad things. But instead you went out to the field, you gleaned the harvest, you worked hard, and then he says then he's saying, you have godly character. You have godly character.

Speaker 1: 6:07

And I want to ask you a very serious question. Okay, this one, this question I want to ask you today, I think is of the most importance for us, and the question I'll ask you is do you have good character? Another way to phrase it do you value good character In a world that is so consumed and so concerned with production and what you can produce and how high of the ladder you can climb? The question I want to ask you today, lvc, is what about your character? What about your character? What does your character look like? Are you a person who is growing spiritually?

Speaker 1: 6:45

Now, again, I'm not just talking about saying oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know I'm a Christian, you know I live in the United States, so of course I'm a Christian. You know? No, no, no. I'm talking about do you have true godly character? Are you a genuine disciple, follower of Jesus? And why does this matter? Why does this matter? It matters because you don't build a life of righteousness on a foundation of sin. We can't build a life of righteousness on a foundation of sin. If you want a godly marriage in the future. It's really wise to seek God and live a godly life today.

Speaker 1: 7:26

If you are a person of spiritual character, what does this mean? Are you spending time with God daily, bible reading, prayer, journaling, taking a long walk on the beach? That's a good way to connect with God, you know, but for real, but spending time, intentional time, with God. Are you a person that doesn't just go to church or watch a video online, but you're actually serving in the church and you see yourself as a part of the church? Do you treat people with honor and integrity? Are you being conformed into the image of Christ? In other words, you look more like Jesus, you behave more like Jesus and you love more like Jesus today than you did a few months ago. And that doesn't mean that you're perfect, because none of us will be, but you're being perfected and changed by the presence of God, who's active in your daily life. See, here you go.

Speaker 1: 8:20

I want to ask again are you a person of good character? Are you trying to become a person I mentioned this last week? The more I raise kids, the less concerned I become about if they're going to be a firefighter one day, or the president, and I'm more concerned, man, do my kids have good character? Are they building good values in them? Because character is so important? Now again, if you want a godly marriage, you want to have godly character. So, if you're dating and it's complicated and you meet someone, and I would say this, pay very close attention to the character, because what are you looking for? We can be practical for a moment. You're looking at their friends. What are their friends like? Are their friends the majority? Their friends like? Are their friends the majority of them pursuing Jesus? Because you tend to be like those you run with, I'll tell you this Show me your five best friends and I'll show you where you'll be in five years, because we tend to be like who we hang out with.

Speaker 1: 9:17

How do they treat their family? This is a big one. This is a big one. How does he treat his mama? Because the way he treats his mom is the way he's going to treat you. That's an important one. That's an important one. How do they treat people that serve them when you go to a restaurant? Are they kind to their waiters and waitresses? Do they tip good, you know? Are they arrogant and entitled? Does she have a work ethic? Does he take initiative. In other words, if they're jerks to everyone else, if they have no quality friends, if they're critical of everyone else, if they're always a victim and they distract you from God, these are signs of not having good character.

Speaker 1: 9:56

And I would say to some of you right now, if you're with someone and you're seeing these things that are not pleasing to God, I want you to do this. Someone once said when a person shows you who they really are, believe them, believe them. When a person shows you who they really are, believe them, because the way people are living is a reflection of what they believe, of what they believe. Now, what we believe determines how we behave. Now, let's be a person of godly character and seek people with godly character, and I know here's the truth, though Everything I just said kind of goes against what culture tells us.

Speaker 1: 10:34

What culture tells us hey, man, you got to go with your heart, you got to feel. If you feel it, do it. If that's what you want. And I'm going to tell you, guys, if we want to be everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, we live a little differently, we respond to things a little differently. Our lists, our goals are a little different, not necessarily like oh, I'm better than other people, no, no, but it's different. It's different because you want something different from your life.

Speaker 1: 11:03

Okay, boaz, he's a man of standing. He's different because you want something different from your life. Okay, boaz, he's a man of standing, he's a man of character. And he notices Ruth's character. The next thing we see that they're actually exploring to see if there's a connection. So he's seeking character. He says, hey, she has good character, but is there a connection? Is there something going on? Is there any romance in the air? And so what does he do? He invites her on a date. He says you want to go get Chipotle? So they go out to Chipotle. But she says, no, I like Moe's more, and so that was an issue right there in the beginning. But anyways, they worked through it with counseling.

Speaker 1: 11:39

Ruth 2 says this at mealtime, boaz said to her come over here, have some bread, dip it in the wine vinegar. When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. So I guess they went to Cava, actually, okay, so she ate all she wanted and has some left over. Notice this. Here you go. I love this. Notice this. Notice that Ruth doesn't move too fast, notice that she's like, oh, boaz, taking me out on a nice date, okay, you know, all right, we're eating and notice she doesn't be like, oh so, boaz, you know you ever think about getting married and, boaz, you think about having kids. And what names would you want to possibly name those kids that you want to have? Because here on my app, on my phone app, I got all the names I want right now and she doesn't move too fast. She played it cool. She played it cool All right.

Speaker 1: 12:28

Because there you go, notice, on their first date though their first date, they get to know each other. They're not making out, they're not fooling around, they're not playing naked twister, which is a good game that maybe some married people can do, but they're making a connection. And, ladies, what you want is a man who will initiate. You want someone who will put the effort to pursue you. I got to say something, because I know this sounds a little old school and it's okay to be a little old school, but, ladies, you want a man who will pursue you. You want a man that will initiate something, not one who's just going to sit back and be playing his video games. And I got to say something For the dads in here who have there you go. Okay, so they're making a connection. They're making a connection. He's pursuing and guess what? And he's not just pursuing her body, he's pursuing her character. This is a big difference. Okay, he's not just pursuing what she looks like on the outside, but who she is. You want someone who will pursue you. Put a little work.

Speaker 1: 13:30

Now, like I mentioned, aaron and I we never had our first date because we kind of we already knew each other before we started dating. So it wasn't awkward for us to have a first date. But I do remember when I wanted things to be official. Okay, the summer she came home for summer break, we were hanging out, we were training to run together, which was just my excuse to see her every day. And then she went back to school. She was finishing up at George Mason and I said, when she gets back from winter break, I want to make this official.

Speaker 1: 13:59

So first I met with my pastors and talked about it. I talked to them and they loved Aaron. They kind of gave me their blessing. Then, old-fashioned, whether you like it or not, this is what I did. I went and met with Aaron's dad. I met with Aaron's dad, took him out for coffee and asked him if I could date his daughter. You know, and I got to be very clear about something here.

Speaker 1: 14:20

Okay, because one time I told this story to one of Aaron's friends and she was like you asked permission from other people to do what you knew you wanted to do in your heart. She's like that's weird, why would you do that? And then I was like, well, first of all, I didn't ask this other people. I wasn't like, hey, jimmy, should I date this girl? It wasn't that. I asked people who loved me, who had the best interest for me and mine and who loved Aaron. And because I gotta say something about that, it's important to have people in your life who can help mentor and navigate complicated and complex situations in your life, so that you don't rush into things prematurely. And then, 10 years down the road, you say why didn't no one tell me? Because we've all been there before, haven't we? Or we all just have friends who've done that. And so, anyways, lucky for me, her dad loved me, so that was good and he was happy for us.

Speaker 1: 15:21

Then I took Aaron out on a date where we were going to go ice skating. Now I got to say something. Down in downtown Norfolk, where we're from, there was this winter wonderland. They had this Ferris wheel and the ice skating rink all out, and in my head, this is about to be the most romantic night ever. The problem is this I'd never been ice skating before, I'd never even done it before, and so we go there and I'm expecting this romantic, nice night. I put my shoes on. I was like, oh, these kind of hard to walk on, okay, and so I'm like it's all right. You know, we get to the ice Now. Erin has gone before, so she was good at it.

Speaker 1: 15:59

We get on the ice, and instantly when I step on the ice, you know I'm moving all around and in every romantic Joe cool vibe I was trying to have was immediately thrown out the window. Okay, so I'm holding on to the wall, like trying to hang on. I got Aaron's hand and she's kind of like just like a gazelle, just like doing it, and I'm holding on to the wall, barely making it. Finally, I say to myself, well, no, I got to be cool, I got to be smooth. So I break off the wall and in my head, though, I was going to break off the wall and I was instantly going to start just gliding. I was just doing a thing and then get her spin, pick her up. You know the whole deal. That's how I saw it in my head. I got off the wall and as soon as I got off the wall I started to wibble and I instantly pull Erin down. My blade goes into her knee, yep, we fall down. Ah, we hit.

Speaker 1: 16:54

Then this guy, this pretty boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, comes out of nowhere and he skates and he does a shoop. He does that thing, shoop, and ice debris just fell on my face, blah, you know. And then he did it. He did a shoop and he got me and then he picked up Aaron. He paid no attention to me. He picked up Aaron and I'm over there on the ice like just wait, just wait till I get up, just wait till I get up, because I'm about to beat your Boaz. That's what I said. I said Boaz, you know, that's what I said, you know.

Speaker 1: 17:27

Needless to say, my first, my first date, didn't go that well. Okay, so then we go to the Ferris wheel. I would try to recover, because I'm cool man and I try to recover from this, and I said, all right, let's just go to the Ferris wheel. I'm going to ask her on top of the Ferris wheel hey, will you officially be my girlfriend? And so we get to the Ferris wheel and the whole time Aaron's like laughing. I'm trying to romantic things. I've read it on Google. What to say? I'm trying to be romantic and she's laughing and I say, do I look funny to you, am I funny? And then she said, yeah, you are kind of funny. And so, all that to say, over 10 years later, three kids later, I somehow married the most beautiful girl in the world. So it's the proof that miracles can happen, because I'm pretty goofy looking compared to Aaron, but it wasn't the smoothest thing, but it worked out.

Speaker 1: 18:18

Now, what I want to say is this what I want to say what are you going to do, though? What are you going to do? Are you going to seek godly character? Are you going to explore connection? And are you going to watch? And then what we see Ruth and Boaz do? They're going to watch as they show consideration to one another. Check this out.

Speaker 1: 18:35

Verse 15 says this as she got up to glean, boaz gave orders to his men, let her gather among the sheaves and do not reprimand her. Even pull out some stock for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up and don't rebuke her. Now, this is important. This is important. What do we need to know? That, according to the Levitical law, just the leftovers that fell on the ground, that was for the poor and the widows and the people in need. But Boaz was doing something different. He was guarding her dignity, letting her work, but then he was giving her beyond the normal. He was giving her beyond that. Check this out. So Ruth gleaned the field and she gathered the barley and it amounted to about an ethnoc. I think I said that right ethoc. And now what is that? In Hebrew, that means a whole lot of barley. Okay, so that means she got two weeks wages of barley. So she worked a day, but Boaz was so generous, he put so much everywhere that she was able to gather two weeks worth of wages. He blessed her more than she ever expected.

Speaker 1: 19:53

And that's why I would just say when you're dating, here you go. I want to speak to some single people. When you're dating, I would encourage you don't settle. Let me say it one more time. Don't settle. Don't settle to the world's pressure that you have to be married at a certain age. Don't settle to oh, I just got to compromise my values just so I can be happy. Because the truth is this a person won't make you happy all the time. The truth is again we live in an American society that puts marriage up as an idol, and so many people get married and they recognize their idol can't heal them. And so don't settle. Don't settle for whatever's there. Settle for someone who puts in some effort to pursue you. Seek someone who puts in some effort to pursue you. Seek someone who puts in some effort. Now, we just don't want someone who just meets our expectations. We want someone who exceeds it. And then, guys, if you want a Ruth, be a Boaz. If you want a Ruth, be a Boaz, be a giver, be generous, put some effort into it.

Speaker 1: 20:50

And now I got to speak to my married men. I got to speak to my married fellas in the house. Just because you got your wife, that doesn't mean you stop dating her. Let me say that one more time, because I didn't get enough amens back from that one. Just because you got your wife, that doesn't mean you stop dating her, because it's so important to continue to date your spouse. It's important to continue to fall in love with your spouse, to keep putting the effort there to it. Here you go. We got three kids and it's a challenge to get a babysitter Now we do, luckily, have the best babysitter ever but we go on a date night and we try to go on a date night at least twice a month. At least twice a month, if not every week. We want to Do I always want to go out, not always, but it's that important to have a healthy marriage to do it, you know.

Speaker 1: 21:41

And then I got this one, this one. I'm going to patent this. You got to find your foot rub rule. Hey Jacob, what does that mean? What are you getting weird up in here? What does that mean? What's the foot rub rule? My wife loves a good foot rub. I hate feet Because I don't like them. You know they do weird things, you know, but I love my wife more than I hate feet.

Speaker 1: 22:11

And so husbands, find something that your wife loves and even if you don't love it, do it, because marriage is about sacrifice and not just sacrificing so you can get something on the other end of it, sacrificing because you want to be like Christ and show unconditional love to your spouse. Come on, come on. Come on, because you don't, because you just don't attract what you want. You tend to attract what you are. So he's seeking character. They're looking for connection, this consideration, and then what I like is they're actually receiving confirmation. They're receiving confirmation.

Speaker 1: 22:51

So Ruth comes home to her mother-in-law and she's got all this barley and then she has all this grain and Naomi says this. Naomi asked her where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you, sister. I added that last part. Whoever that guy is, I like him. That's what Naomi is saying. Whoever did this, he's a good, honorable, godly man. That's what she's saying. And what do we know about Naomi? We know that Naomi loves Ruth, that Naomi loved Ruth, and in chapter one we saw that Naomi prayed to God for Ruth to find a godly man that will provide for her. And so this person who loves her, that she can trust, is actually confirming who this potential candidate is.

Speaker 1: 23:41

I gotta say this. That's why it's always a good sign when those who love you the most like who you like. Let me say it one more time. People will be forgetting this one. That's why it's always a good sign when those who love you the most like who you like, when the people that you trust the most and you love the most confirm it. It's a good sign. I'm not saying it's always gonna be that way, but it's a good sign. It's a good sign, like I mentioned earlier, when Erin and I dated, I got permission from her dad and my pastors when we were ready to get engaged.

Speaker 1: 24:17

We didn't make this like you know, oh, this is our own thing, we're going to do this. No, we involved other people in it. We involved other people. We had healthy people who love us and who we could trust in the conversation. My brother, you know he was a big part of that decision. You know, if he didn't like Aaron, that would have been a big deal to me. I wouldn't have just been like get over it, dude. You know it was a big deal my closest friends, aaron and her family.

Speaker 1: 24:43

But what I'm saying is we weren't lone rangers. We had a healthy group of people doing life. That gave us confirmation that we felt like God was in our relationship and I got to speak to that real fast and maybe for you. That's why joining a small group is so important, getting a community around you. And I got to say something else to that. Though I got to say something else to that. And, bethany, you can come on up and make it spiritual in here. Okay, I got to say something else. Ovc has been around for four years. Right, our church has been around for four years. Two of those years were kind of hijacked by COVID, but the Lord was faithful in it. But I got to say something. Our church community is growing, like right now. Our church community is growing. There's people coming in, people who we can do life together.

Speaker 1: 25:22

And I want to say something God's hand is on our church. God's hand is on our church, jacob. What do you mean by that? What do you mean? God's hand is on church. What I mean by that is that God is bringing people together from different walks of life, different backgrounds, different stories, different economics, different things, different education, all the different things. He's bringing them together because he wants to bring the people together who can walk towards Jesus together and friends. Let's continue, as a group, to grow this church, as a group, to grow this church, as a group, to grow this church, and I'm not saying growing it all. I just want to have the biggest, next big church in milothian, because there's plenty of them.

Speaker 1: 26:01

No, no, I want to grow a church that is healthy people learning how to become followers of Jesus, because there's people in our world that need accountability. Come on, am I making sense? They need accountability. They need healthy people to encourage them, to be with them so that they can grow. Does that make sense? And that's what we want to do here? Okay, so let me speak to single people and married people. If you are single, wow, bethany looks a lot different. She grew a beard. Whoa, it's crazy. Okay, so people are online. I was like, what is he talking about? But okay.

Speaker 1: 26:42

But if you're single and dating someone and all your trusted people are telling you, no, listen, just listen. They might not be right, but at least listen. Just listen If your mom, your dad, your brother, your dog, skippy, don't like them, listen, listen. Marry people. If trusted people are telling you hey, that's not good, you need to start working on that. You need to get into some counseling. Listen, listen, and I know this, but my kids and I got this thing and I got this. Hey, hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good, but you want to know your level of responsibility.

Speaker 1: 27:30

Is your relationship with God, is your relationship with yourself making sure you're healthy, then your relationship with your spouse, because if that one spirals out of control, so will your relationship with your kids, so will your relationship with your friends and so will your career. Can I just be honest? Can I just be honest today? So we got to listen. We got to listen, and then this is what I also want to say to people. Okay, this is what I also want to say to people.

Speaker 1: 27:57

If you don't, if you're dating someone or you're married to someone and it's hard and it's complicated and you need help, ask God. As you're a pastor, can I pastor you for a second? Ask God, get before God, talk to God, Explain your heart, expose your heart before God. Say God, this is what I'm going through, this is what's happening, and he is faithful to listen. He's faithful to listen. He's faithful to listen and faithful to give you advice. I got to say something. God wants to speak to you about some of the most complex relationships you have, but oftentimes our phone notifications are so loud and so constant that we can't even hear the voice of God. You got to get into a place where God I need you to speak to me over this. I need your help in this. He faithful, friend, he's faithful. Okay, let's go back to the text and we'll let the text help us answer this. Okay, ruth comes and tells Naomi. Naomi says this is the guy, this is the guy. And she saysaz Boaz did all this for you.

Speaker 1: 29:07

And check out what Naomi says. He says he is one of our guardian redeemers. He is one of our guardian redeemers. What in the world is a guardian redeemer? Other version says he's a kinsman redeemer. Now, this is a big theme in the book of Ruth. Okay, this is probably the biggest theme in the.

Speaker 1: 29:26

In the Guardian Redeemer, this is the person that this is the relative whose role, if, if chooses to. He chooses. He can choose to come in and provide for someone else in his family who has significant loss. A family member loses a spouse and the widow has no means to provide for herself. The guardian redeemer protects her, provides for her, honors her and takes care of her. What's crazy is that, legally, boaz is not obligated to be her guardian redeemer. Let me say that one more time Legally, boaz is not obligated to be her guardian redeemer. He's not her closest relative at all and Ruth is not an Israelite, she's a Moab, she's a foreigner. He doesn't owe her anything, he doesn't owe her a thing, and yet he chooses I want you to get this yet Boaz chooses to give her everything. Everything.

Speaker 1: 30:28

And this theme that we see in this little Old Testament book projects what we will see on the cross. Because it wasn't law that made Boaz take care of Ruth, it was grace. He was moved by grace. It wasn't law, but it was grace. And in the New Testament we have a guardian redeemer and his name is Jesus and he is the son of the living God who protects us, provides for us, pays our debt of sin and meets all of our needs. He is the one who works in all things, even the broken relationships, even the struggling marriages. He is the one who works in all things, even the broken relationships, even the struggling marriages. He is the one when you call on Him and when you seek Him, you will always find Him. He is so good in His providence and he's working all things good for those who love Him. Now call it according to His purpose.

Speaker 1: 31:25

He takes what's broken. He takes the broken things in our lives, the fear and the anxiety and the depression and that low-grade depression anxiety that we all struggle with. He takes those things and says I can make all things new. And here's the truth, like the apostle Paul tells, tells us. He says, therefore if anyone is in christ, it doesn't matter what you've done, it doesn't matter what you're even doing right now, it doesn't matter how dark or even how sinful your life has been. Anyone who is in christ, he or she, is a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come. It doesn't matter how jacked up your dating relationship is, it doesn't matter how screwed up your marriage has been. When you both call on Jesus, he can redeem it and he can renew it. All things are possible for Him.

Speaker 1: 32:24

Now I know some of you may be like Jacob. I can't really even hear this message. There's so many complex things going on in my relationship I can't even fully hear it. I know there's so much pain, I know there's things that happen, but I want to reassure you this there is no sin too great for God's grace, there is no marriage too broken for God that God cannot heal, and there's no relationship beyond God's redemption when two people come together to seek one, god and you may say I can't make her do it, I can't make him do it, you can't, you can't, and that is so true. But you can do what you can. You can do what you can. And so if you're dating and it's jacked up, what do you do? You have some options. You have some options. You can just try to pursue it and hope it works out, or you can make a hard choice.

Speaker 1: 33:16

I'll share one more story from Erin's testimony. She has a wonderful testimony. When she first gave her life to Christ, she was dating a guy, long-term dated all through high school, dated partial while she was in college. She gave her life to Jesus. Her life was turned upside down with this new relationship with Christ and she loved very much this guy that she was with for a long time. And finally she went to him and said hey, my life is changing, my life's changed. I can't do the things we used to do, I can't be around those things, but I want you to follow this Jesus. And he respectfully said no, that's you, I'm not into that. So Aaron made a hard decision. She broke up with him, left him, you know, went that route. That was a hard decision because she knew she knew following Jesus sometimes requires you to do something hard. Let me say that one more time Following Jesus will require you to make hard decisions if you really want to follow him. But luckily for Erin, she met me baby, so it worked out for her Okay so, but here's the truth Jesus is. That sounded really arrogant, but I am better looking than that guy, anyway. So there you go.

Speaker 1: 34:37

Jesus is our guardian and redeemer and he is here and he is right now and he loves you and for all you guys, for everyone here. Man, life has been hard. It's been challenging. Ruth, a Moabite woman, comes to Bethlehem and we see in this story that God provides every step of the way. And I want some people to know today even though your journey has been hard at times, god will provide because his grace is sufficient for us, his grace is good. So, father, jesus, holy Spirit, thank you for your love, thank you for your goodness and your favor, thank you that you are our guardian redeemer, that it wasn't based on what we are or what we do, but that you saw us and you loved us and you extend grace to us. That, jesus, you lived the life we couldn't. You died a death we deserved, but three days later you rose from the grave, bringing us into relationship with God, into friendship with God, because the truth, that's what the Holy Spirit right here the truth is's.

Speaker 1: 36:07

The Holy Spirit right here, the truth is God is pursuing you and he's seeking character. He's seeking connection with you. He's seeking consideration. Can I work with you? Can I love on you? He's receiving confirmation, he pursues you, he goes after you. Let's fill the Holy Spirit very clearly right now. Yeah, this is your relationship with God is not about what you can produce, but he just loves to be with you. He loves to be with you.

Speaker 1: 36:53

And if you want any hope for a long-term, lasting marriage, man, your hope is found in a long-term, lasting relationship with Jesus, connecting with him daily, allowing him to love you, to love those unlovable parts of you, to love those broken parts. That's like the Holy Spirit saying he wants to love those broken parts in you, those broken parts that you have been looking for a spouse to heal. Yep, you've been looking for a significant other to bring either assurance or peace to parts of your heart that only God can redeem. Come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit. Yeah, I'm just going to be honest with you guys.

Speaker 1: 37:47

Let's play the Holy Spirit saying there's father wounds that you have that you're looking for your husband to heal and he can't. He can't do it. Okay, come Holy Spirit. Yep, there's some of you looking. There's mother wounds that you have, trust issues that you have. You're looking for a spouse or significant other to heal it. They may, can bring comfort, but they can't bring healing. Jesus brings healing to those broken places inside of us. Again, boaz was looking at her character and God is looking at our character, saying, hey, bring those things to me, I want to bring healing. So, god, we pray healing in Jesus' name, freedom in Jesus' name, victory in Jesus' name. Where there is brokenness, lord, you, our guardian redeemer, are making all things new. So we praise you for that. We praise you for that.

Speaker 1: 38:58

If you're in here today, you're like Jacob man. That sounds good, but I don't know this Jesus you're talking about Never made a decision to follow this Jesus. Maybe you have, but life got in the way. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, I just want you to pray this prayer with me. I'm not going to call you out. Have you come up front, nothing like that, just right where you are. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, just repeat follow you, forgive me for my sins, make me new. Today. I trust you. Today. I put my hope in you, in Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.