RUTH: Rooted In Loyalty | Heroes of The Faith

Ordinary people. Men and women whose lives are not defined by perfection, but by being deeply rooted in Him. Through promise and trial, through courage and calling, their stories remind us that faith doesn't fade in the storm, it grows deeper. And now their stories become our invitation to stand strong and remain rooted in Christ. Heroes of the Faith, Rooted Edition. My name is Claudia and I'm part of the pastoral team here at Vertical and it is my pleasure to continue with this beautiful series of Rooted. And just like a little really quick side note, if you see Pastor, Pastor Virgilio Sr., our founding pastor, it was his birthday yesterday, okay? He didn't want me to say anything, but just make sure you say happy birthday because 81 years do not come easy. And he's lived 81 great years, so make sure you say happy birthday to him when you see him outside. And yeah, it's my pleasure to continue, like I said, with this Rooted series. So, so I think important for us to learn from different characters of the Bible, different men and women who just did something amazing for God. And we want to be able to imitate that. We want to be able to live that same thing out because we want to be prosperous in our walk with Jesus, right? So, let's get into it. For technology, Apple. Search engine, Google. Social platform, YouTube. Airline, Delta. Online retailers, come on, somebody's an Amazon shopper. I thought all the women were gonna be like, Amazon! And for fast food is Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A, no Starbucks, sorry all you coffee people. Chick-fil-A. So, what am I talking about? You guys are like wondering. These are brands that have the highest loyalty ratings in their particular industries. These are companies that have more customers that keep coming back. Isn't that crazy? They have the highest customer retention. And this is like a really crucial metric, especially when for business executives that want to watch like what makes a business a good business. So, whether you want to, you know, create a business, keep a business, make it prosper, whatever it is, whether you're building it and growing it, you need to know these things, right? But loyalty isn't just crucial in business. Like loyalty is crucial in friendships, right? Am I right? Have any of you guys been hurt by a friend who was not loyal

to you? Also, very crucial in marriage, super crucial in marriage. In military, right? We want our military people to be united and ready to go. In our church, in our workplace, and in our nation. Basically, loyalty. We want loyalty everywhere that we go. And unfortunately, loyalty is something that we see less and less of and we really need it more and more. And this is something that's so difficult because today we are so influenced by so many things. I don't think ever in the history of human beings have we ever been so influenced by other things because we have it at fingertips, right? Like, I mean, years ago if something happened in, I don't know, in France, we would find out about it eventually through the news, right? Maybe that same day in the evening. We now find out right away. So sometimes this, you know, having all those influences doesn't help, you know? It makes us sway our opinions and our thoughts and our beliefs easily. Listen, last year I remember we were doing family fun night and they asked me, hey, can you do a little promo video for family fun night? So we are one church, two languages, so I did one in Spanish and one in English. And then like an hour later somebody sends me the same exact announcement that I did. I don't know how. They're like, I just saw this on social media and it was me speaking Portuguese. Okay, I do not speak Portuguese. Like, I don't speak. I wish I spoke Portuguese. But I'm like, no, don't talk about it. And I'm just like, and it's my voice. And I had to listen to it like three times because it was my, I'm like, that is not, that's my voice. And my lips looked like they were speaking Portuguese. It was, it was creepy. It was a little creepy. You know, I was like, so right now it's sometimes hard to know what you're loyal to because you don't know what's real and what's, what's not real, right? So let me give you the definition of loyalty. Loyalty means being faithful, committed, and supportive towards a person, a group, organization, or set of values, even during difficult times. And I think that's like the main thing, even during difficult times, right? So there's a book in the Bible that has by its title and main character a woman. by the name of Ruth. And I think one of the main reasons we know Ruth

and why we even talk about Ruth still is because of her loyalty. So today's message is Ruth rooted in loyalty. Rooted in loyalty. So let me tell you a little bit about Ruth. It's one of the greatest love stories in the Bible. Like truly it is a beautiful story. And it is, I guess, known as a love story so much that they've written movies, novels, and books about it. A lot of weddings, I heard from a lady even after first service, she's like, oh my gosh, that was the verse of my wedding. You know what, even in weddings you hear verses quoted from that book. You have it on jewelry, you have it on rings. Because it is such a beautiful, just like a beautiful definition of loyalty. So some people say it's really incredible because it's the loyalty of a daughter-in-law towards her mother-in-law, right? And there's such bad reputation with mothers-in-law. I'm a mother-in-law. Like the other day somebody was saying a mother-in-law joke and I'm like, I said I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. But I guess not all mothers-in-laws are created equal. Okay, I'm the best one. I hope my daughter's in love. Yeah, I can attest to that. But it's a beautiful book, it's a beautiful book. And four chapters, 85 verses.

It begins with three funerals and it ends with a marriage and a birth of a baby. Okay, if you're not hooked in, right, you should want to go home and read this whole book. It's just four chapters, you're going to love it. Now, listen to this. God used the loyalty of a woman who wasn't even a Jew, who wasn't even of the people of God to make sure, this affects you, that you and I could have a Savior. Okay, we're going to get into that. So let's go a little back story with Ruth. So we find ourselves with two Israelites and they're named Elimelech and Naomi. They're married and they have two sons, which are Malon and Kilian. Okay, so those of you that are having babies and want boys' names, Elimelech, Malon, Kilian, right there. So they lived in Bethlehem, but at that time there was like a Great Depression, a Great Famine, and there was, you know, no way to make a living and no way to eat. So Elimelech, the dad, he can't provide. He decides to pack up his family and cross the Jordan River across to Moab. Now, that was a hard move because Moab, the people of Moab and the people of God did not get along. They were originally the same, but the people from Moab started becoming, following idols and worshiping idols.

And for a long time, they were enemies. I mean, for a long time, they oppressed the people of Israel. Like physically, when the people of Israel would do all their crops and all their, you know, they were ready to harvest. They would come in like locusts and just grab everything and take it away from them. So the people of Israel had suffered under the Moabites. So we see now that this couple, this whole family goes to live in Moab. And not long after they're there, they get there, Elimelech, the dad, he dies. This is rough. Because now we have this woman with her two sons. Thank God she has her two sons. So the two sons, they meet Moabite women. They marry them. And one is Ruth and one is Orpah. Okay? So we have these two women that have now united to Naomi's family. Okay? But then 10 years go by and the two sons, Malon and Kilian, they die. So now there's three women. So we see this dilemma of Naomi being alone, a widow with no children. She has two daughters-in-law, but they're widows as well and no children, really in an economic system that doesn't support them or give them any kind of help.

So this really seemed like an impossible situation. So Naomi's thinking and then all of a sudden she gets word from Bethlehem, back home. And they're saying, hey, things are looking better here. You know, things are looking better. There's food, there's prosperity. Come on back. She decides, I'm going to go back. She tells the girls, I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back and this is what I'm going to do. And the girls, they pack up and they're like, we're going to go back with you. And as they're on the way, Naomi starts thinking, you know what? This is not a good idea. You know? And she tells them, you know, I don't think it's a good idea for you to come along with me because you're going to go to a different land where they're probably not going to accept you. You're probably going to be rejected and hated, what's more. It could even be dangerous for you. Why don't you ladies go back to Moab and then you could be there in your, like, It's house, you're still young, you can get remarried, you can have your own family, have kids. I mean, you have a whole future ahead of you. Why don't you go back? And they're like, no, no, Kleena, we don't wanna go back, we wanna stay with you.

That's how good of a mother-in-law she was. Mother's-in-law, we need to aspire to that, right? No, we're gonna be with you. I feel like maybe they felt the pressure of caring for her because she was older than they were. So she insisted, no, go back, you can have the rest of your life, it's your culture, your people, you got this. So Orpah says, oh, she cried, she hugged her, she said, okay, I'm gonna go back. She goes back. Naomi tells Ruth, hey, look at your sister. She went back, why don't you go back too? And then this is where we're gonna get to one of the greatest thing. I think the whole story of this book hinges on what she says to Naomi next. And we're gonna go, Ruth chapter one, verse 16 through 18. It says, but Ruth replied, don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die. And where I will be buried. May the Lord, listen to this, may the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me. So when Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

I mean, this is a huge declaration. We read this so like quickly and lightly, but think about this. This was like a huge statement for this woman to say, you know what, I'm gonna take the difficult road. I could just go back to Moab and redo my life and I'll probably meet some young man that will marry me and I will have kids and I will have my life nice and easy. But I'm gonna choose to go with this woman. This is where I wanna be. So this is what loyalty sounds like. This is what it looks like. Ruth left everything, everything familiar to her, her homeland, her culture, her family, her future, to remain loyal to Naomi and to follow the God of Israel. We're gonna go a little bit deeper in that. Her story is about more than loyalty to a person. It's about a heart so rooted in loyalty that it remains steadfast through loss, through uncertainty, through sacrifice and waiting. So today we're gonna learn three lessons from Ruth about staying loyal. Are you guys ready? Number one, loyalty stays when leaving would be easier. That's rough, right? Because leaving, nobody would have blamed her for saying, you know, not even Naomi. She was even insisting, stay, stay. Nobody would have blamed her. Remember, Naomi had no husband, no money, no future.

And the only thing that God had to offer to this young woman, Naomi was destitute and she was depressed. Because we even see it in chapter two, as they're going into the city back in Bethlehem, everybody knows everything, right? In the towns. And they're like, Naomi's back, Naomi's back. Oh, look, Naomi's back. And as she's coming back, she's like, oh, don't call me Naomi. Change my name to Mara because God has been so bitter. That was her, like for real. Have you ever dealt with a difficult person? And then you're just like, I wanna leave, right? That could have been Ruth. She's like, I don't wanna be with her. She's like, not being herself. She was going through a low moment in her life. And Ruth is like, I'm here with you. I'm here with you, Mara. If you're bitter today, I'm here with you. I'm gonna cheer you up, you know? That's beautiful. So loyalty reveals itself when leaving would be easier. It was revealed. Ruth's loyalty was tested by hardship. And she was in a foreign land where she was probably not liked or accepted. And maybe even possibly looked down on, right? So this is what typically we see in these times.

When relationships become difficult, what do people do? They leave. Yeah, wow, that was like, we know what they do, right? They leave. When serving becomes difficult, people quit. When circumstances change, commitments disappear. That's when you find out who got married for money. We've seen it here. I'm sorry to say. Yeah. I've been through seasons in my life where we're like, we're eating rice and beans. We're eating rice and beans and beans and rice. And rice and beans with a little onions today. I don't know. But you know what? It's you and me, baby. It's my husband and I. Let's go together, you know? So this is the reality. The Bible tells us in Romans 12, 10, it says, be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. This is what we're supposed to be modeling. Not only in marriages, with your friends. With your co-workers, this is the way that we show God's love to others. And this is what Ruth, it just oozed out of her, it came out of her. Biblical loyalty goes deeper and it remains rooted in the Lord. Loyalty says, I will stay faithful even when it costs me. Ruth was loyal to Naomi, but most importantly, she was loyal to Naomi's God.

I love this. Ruth, she actually turned her back on pagan idols. Remember, Moab was a place where they worshiped pagan idols. They didn't worship the one true God. And she did this to follow the one true God. I think all those years of seeing her mother-in-law like worshiping God, because you can go to a different place, right? But you still worship God. So her worshiping God and praying to God and just honoring God with her life, it had to be a little contagious. And she's like, uh-uh, I don't want to go back to that. I want what she has. And that is really, really key. I want you and me, I want us to be those kind of people. That people see us and they're like, I want what you have. I don't know what you have, but I need to find out and I need to get that. That's what people need to be saying when they look at you. So we see that when Ruth made that oath of loyalty to Naomi, she also made it to God. Your God will be my God. Now it's her own God. And her allegiance transferred from pagan gods of Moab to the one true God of Israel. So God is looking for people whose loyalty endures beyond feelings and remains steadfast through life's challenges. This is hard because we're always going through challenges, right? Ruth teaches us that true loyalty remains even when we don't know how the story will end. This is rough for me because I want to know how the story ends. Always.

Number two, loyalty serves without seeking recognition. Are you listening to that? Loyalty serves without seeking recognition. Let's go to Ruth 2-2. And this is one of the hardest things to do because we want to be recognized for what we do. It is almost like it's required, right? In jobs, in school, like you need to be recognized for your achievements. But look at what this says. And Ruth the Moabite, this is when they got to Bethlehem, said to Naomi, let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. So she was serving without seeking recognition. She was looking like this is probably like one of the lowest jobs. She wasn't working for a farm, you know, or to grow the fields. She was going to go behind the workers and pick any leftovers. She wasn't picky and said, oh, that job, that's beneath me. I can't do that. She's like, I need to feed this woman and I need to feed myself. What do I have to do? And I love this beautiful part of her that's loyalty. When Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, she immediately began to work. She knew the urgency. It wasn't like, oh, somebody's going to come and cover this for me. No, no, no. She didn't have like, oh, that's my cousin or my cousin can help me out. No, no, no. It's just these two women. Remember, it's not 2026. It's a different time.

And for women to be alone in that time, it was like they had no protection. They could be taken advantage of. They could be, you know, just destitute and set aside and basically just die. So this was a very difficult thing. So she would gather the leftover grains so that she and Naomi could eat. And that was their livelihood. And they aren't relying. They were actually, I want to tell you something. For those, how many of you guys by a show of hands like the Old Testament? Oh, my gosh. You need to study the Old Testament with me. Everything to me is like a story, right? And the Old Testament is so powerful. And one of the most avoided books is Leviticus, okay? Leviticus, you know, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. A third book, Leviticus. People don't like it because it's like a lot of laws and things. And, you know, if you have mold in your house and what to do about it. And you know what? People think it is so tedious and boring and whatever. And I see it as a huge love letter. A love letter from God showing you how to deal with these things. I've never been dealt with before. Now you have mold and you call some mold control company and they take care of it. You don't have to learn. You don't have to do anything. The Bible, the Lord gave them instructions on how to do. And one of the laws that Ruth and Naomi were relying on was something that comes from Leviticus 19. Isn't that crazy? Leviticus 19.

That it was that they would allow the poor people and the sojourners, you know, people that were just passing by to go to the fields and pick up grain after the actual harvesters. This is amazing. Like it was providing for the poor and providing for the people that were just coming by. That didn't, you know, have a Publix, Aldi, Costco or anything to go to and buy some food at. Right? So this was beautiful. And she, um, she was there. It wasn't a glamorous job. You know, it was hard labor, but she was there. And she did it this way. Let's go to Colossians 3.23. This is what you and I need to do. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters. That's what she was doing. She wasn't there for recognition. She was there to get food. And she was just like, you know what? I'm gonna honor God while I'm honoring my mother-in-law and I'm providing food for her and me. Let's just do it. Let's do it. And every time Ruth stepped into those fields, she was demonstrating loyalty. Okay, loyalty. Let's go back to her story. Let's go to Ruth chapter 2, verses 5 to 9. I love this. Here we go. You ready? So Boaz...

Okay, ladies, I need you to do something for me. Say, Boaz. Boaz. Yes, it's a weird name, but, you know, I always think, like, I want to go to heaven. When I go to heaven, I want to meet Boaz. I have, like, this expectation of him looking, like, really handsome. I don't know. Because everything he says is really amazing. So Boaz is the owner of those fields where she is picking up these grains, okay? So Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, who does that young woman belong to? This is code for, is she married, right? So the overseer replied, she is the Boabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters. So Boaz said to Ruth, my daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in any other field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting and follow along after the women. I have told the men to not lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars that the men have filled. So we see through this.

I love how we see in these passages that he just met her and he was like, what? And then he was like, when he gets that testimony, that word of what she is doing, he's even more interested in knowing about her. And then he makes a decision to protect her, to care for her. Did you read that? I mean, isn't that amazing? It's like, hey, I already told the guys, like, leave you alone. I could just imagine this conversation of him telling his men, hey, if she picks up more, you leave her alone. You don't bother her. And everybody was like, what? I could imagine, you know the gossip, right? The office gossip. All the ladies are like, well, they didn't do that for me. You know, Boaz didn't do that for me. So I'm sure there was like a little bit of that, but we see right off the bat that he is protecting her. He's caring for her. Hey, don't go to another field, you know, where they can take advantage of you. You stay right here. You be safe, you know. You go with the ladies that are working in my field. And if you're thirsty, hey, we got you. You don't have to go somewhere else,

digging for a well or going away somewhere far, you know. I love that. And then, and then, I love this. Because he's seen everything that she's gone through and praises her. And then he invites her to have dinner there and take some extra supplies home to Naomi. Okay? So let's go to verse 15. 15 and 16. Okay, let's go back to the other one. I like that one. Because I think, yeah, Boaz replied, I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law. She wasn't doing it for recognition, but yet she was getting it. Since the death of your husband, how you left your father and how you left your mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Then he invited her to have dinner there and to take extra supplies to Naomi. I love that. Isn't that good? Not only is he protecting her, caring for her, providing for her and Naomi,

but then he's praying for her. You see that? He's praying for her. Men, come on. Let's do it. So after we see that, let's go to verse 15 and 16. I love it. And as she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, listen to this, let her gather among the sheaves and don't reprimand her. Like those little bundles that we've already made, if she grabs them, you haven't seen anything, okay? Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up and don't rebuke her. And I love this because it's almost like he's caring for her integrity so that she doesn't feel like, you know, oh, like, you know, kind of like respecting her. You know, that just leave some extra so she thinks that she's picking it up, you know, that she feels like she's doing her part. I love this. Just imagine the whole movie in my head. So when you are being loyal to God and his people, God will recognize you and he will reward you. You know what? Right now in this church, every week in this church. So many teams. I don't know how many people we have in the impact team. Anybody know? Over 400, close to 500 on our impact team.

That's the team that serves here in church. I want you to know that there is always, right now, in fact somebody serving somewhere. That's not being recognized. Mainly the people that stand up here on the platform are the ones recognized because they are more visible. But everywhere else there is like an army of people working and they are not doing it to be recognized. Good job so-and-so. Good job over there. No, they are doing it for the Lord because they love the Lord. And guess what? God will see them. God will recognize them. God will give them honor. We do it because we want to honor God. And guess what? When those people aren't there in those positions, wow, do we miss them. Right. When one of the teachers doesn't show up and kids, woo, do we miss them. We miss them. We are counting because they are serving not to be recognized but doing it out of the abundance of love they have in their heart for God. And for all of us. Right. Listen, this guy was out of her league. Let's be real.

Let's be real. He was rich. He was very respected in the community. He was like a pillar of his community. And here comes this woman who is a widow and a Moabite. So probably they spoke about her, oh, she's probably like this. Without knowing her. But Boaz saw in her all those qualities that made her a good woman. A woman who loved God and who loved her family. Those are good qualities to have. Right. I love how this story continues. The Bible doesn't say it, okay, in the book of Ruth, it doesn't say that Ruth was really pretty. But I assume she was really pretty. I'm sure that she caught his eye. But everything that it says is he praises her for her character. You know. I love that. She's so kind. Look at her. She's so hardworking. Wow. I mean, he was, you know, kind of held, you know, fallen back because he saw these amazing things in her. And the kingdom of God advances because of people like Ruth. Because of people that are loyal.

That's how we build our church. So let me ask you, are you people who show up? Okay. Some of you. Two of you. People who serve. People who pray. Okay, I'm going to say that one again. People who pray. You better. People who remain faithful even when no one notices. That's a hard one, right. But God sees every act of loyalty. God sees every act of loyalty. And it doesn't go unnoticed with him. So loyalty stays when leaving would be easier. Loyalty serves without seeking recognition. And number three, loyalty trusts God's plan during the waiting. How many of you love to wait? I was watching yesterday. Yesterday I was watching the Columbia game. But I was looking at all the footage of the people going to Miami, to the fun fest, fun thing area for the World Cup, right. In Bayfront Park. The lines. It looked like a river, a yellow river. Man, these Colombians came out of the woodwork. There's like thousands and thousands of Colombians, or people that are rooting for Columbia, trying to get into that park to see the game on a big screen, right.

So first come, first serve kind of a thing. These people were waiting not for hours, like a whole day. To be able to get in there. And some of them didn't make it. Some of them, we know, were held. How many of you have been to Disney? Stood in a line for an attraction the last two minutes, and your line was like three hours, right. Waiting. Waiting is tough. I would always do like games with my kids that were like Bible trivia and stuff, in the line, and people would start joining us. So that made the three-hour, you know, line just go a little bit faster. Be smart. Take advantage of all those things, right. But loyalty trusts God's plan during the waiting. One of the hardest things to do is wait. And this book is filled with waiting. Waiting through grief. Waiting through uncertainty. Waiting through poverty. Through provision. Will God provide, you know. Ruth could not see what God was doing behind the scenes, but God was working the entire time. So while Ruth was gathering grain, God was really preparing the heart of Boaz. I like that. While Ruth was serving Naomi, God was preparing redemption. While Ruth was simply being faithful, God was writing a bigger story. Let's read in Habakkuk 2.3.

And for anybody who is in a season of waiting right now, just listen to this verse. Oh, it lingers. Though it linger, wait for it, because it will certainly come and will not delay. This referred to like even waiting for God's blessing. So, Lord, I don't know how much longer I have to wait, but I'm going to rest in you. Remember, God has promises for your life. And even though sometimes those promises appear to be taking way too long, be patient. Be patient. And be trusting that what God has promised will happen at the right time. It's so amazing how we're just like microwave, microwave, hurry up, God. And he's like slow cooker, slow cooker. And we're just like come on, I'm okay already. I want to see the whole picture. I want to see the whole puzzle. I don't want to see a little piece of it. Now going back to the story, Naomi, how many of you know that moms and mother-in-laws, I don't know, God gave us something special. Something a little extra. That we just know things, right. So Naomi noticed, I guess maybe we just observed really well. She noticed that Boaz was interested in Ruth. So she tells Ruth to go shower, to put on some deodorant and perfume and to stop dressing like a widow.

And she sends her over to Boaz looking good and smelling good. Let me tell you why. So when she comes back with all of this, you know, constant like surplus, extra kind of food that, hey, a gleaner, somebody who goes behind the harvesters does not pick that much grain up. What is the deal here? Who's letting you do this? And she goes, oh, well, you know, Boaz, he told me that I could Boaz. Right away she's like ding, you know, the little light bulb goes up. And guess what? Naomi is a relative of Ruth. Or I should say of Naomi. Naomi's husband. A limeleck. So there was something known as a kinsman redeemer. I love this. Kinsman redeemer. And basically it was a person in your family, like the next in line, that could come in, purchase the land that used to be yours, or in this case your father-in-law's, and then redeem you. Like, hey, you were back in this land but then I got to marry you. And guess what? Listen to this. She goes to Boaz, all dressed up pretty, smelling good. And you have to read the story. Because it's like a whole process that Naomi helped her navigate

through. And this is what you're going to do, girl. And guess what? She didn't be like, you know, my mother doesn't always tell me what to do. She was like, yes, ma'am, let's do it, come on. And she went and she did this. And basically she was telling Boaz, hey, you want to marry me? You want to marry me? He said, I am interested. But there is another relative that is first in line. I am second in line. So I got to deal with this guy first. Go home. She opens up her shawl. Open up your shawl. And he starts putting food in it, more food in it, more food in it, and then she goes home. Because you can't go home empty-handed to your mother-in-law. So she goes home. And then when the mother-in-law sees that load of food, she's like, what happened? He says he's going to resolve this. And she's like, come on, we're in business. She was so happy. So the next morning she snuck out of the harvesting floor and she goes back home with her food. And then Boaz goes to the gates of the city. That's where they did their business. I love how they did business back then.

When you made a deal you took your shoe off and gave it to the other person. You took off your sandal and said deal. That was a handshake. He goes to the city gate and waiting for him. Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? He passes by. He's like, friend, come on over. He calls him over and says, hey, this is what's going on. So a land, hey, you can redeem it. You can have that land as part of your, you know. And he's like, yes, I want a land. And I'm thinking Boaz is like, no. So he tries to make it not so attractive. But you do have to marry the Moabite woman. He didn't say you have to marry that super hard-working, lovely, amazing woman. He didn't say you have to marry that super hard-working, lovely, amazing, good quality, good character kind of girl. No. You got to marry the Moabite woman. And he's like, uh, the other guy goes, I don't want to marry the Moabite woman. I don't want anything to do with her. Because if I marry her, I'm going to have to share, you know, my kids are going to have to share inheritance. If I have to marry her and have more kids, my inheritance is going to be pulled apart.

Never mind. You can redeem her. And he's like, if I got to sacrifice, I got to sacrifice. If I got to sacrifice, I got to sacrifice. So he comes over. Oh, boy, isn't it good? God is so good. I mean, do you think, do you think that Ruth even imagined this? When she went through the tragedy of losing her husband? Of even dreaming that she could go somewhere else and have a really good life? Have an even better life than she could even imagine? Loyalty trusts God's word. It's planned during the waiting. I love that. And Boaz had the possibility, he bought that land, you know, and he's like, let's go, let's go forward with this. I love that God used Naomi to help her, to help Ruth learn and understand the culture and the customs that she did not know. Listen, sometimes we need to listen to people that have more experience in the Lord, more experience in life in general. Young moms, we got old moms here that know what to do. You don't have to Pinterest, you don't have to Google, you don't have to do anything. You don't have to chat GPT. You can ask us who lived it in real life.

You know, young men go to older men that know even that are businessmen and are gonna tell you, hey, do not do that. Don't go there or don't do that. Or I advise you do this, let's pray about this. This is what the word says. I love that, that's what church is about. And many times you, older, go to younger because they're doing things right and they can speak into your life in a mighty way. Some younger people are spiritual parents to older people because they're walking with the Lord and they're being faithful and they're being loyal to God. So God used that and I love that Ruth allowed her mother-in-law to speak into her life and follow that because of her loyalty to Ruth and to God, excuse me, to Naomi and God, Ruth received the loyalty of Boaz and God. That's amazing. You know what? Many Christians, they see Boaz as a picture of Jesus Christ who redeems and restores people through the sacrifice. I choose to see him like that too. Now, Boaz did just what he said. Listen to what Ruth 4, 13 to 17 says. It says, so Boaz took Ruth into his home and she became his wife and when he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant and she gave birth to a son. Then the women of the town said to Naomi,

praise the Lord who has now provided a redeemer for your family. May this child be famous in Israel. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age for he is the son of your daughter-in-law. Listen to this, who loves you and who has been better to you than seven sons. This is huge. Like, I don't know, we read that today and it doesn't make sense or it doesn't mean what it meant there. But back then, having a boy was it. Like you had girls and you're like, oh, another girl. You know, that's just a reality. And look what it says. It says, she's been better to you than seven sons. Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast and she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, now alas, Naomi has a son again and they named him Obed. And he became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. Like King David, like David, you know? Do you see this? How God used a pagan woman, Moabite woman to come into the lineage of our savior, Jesus Christ. That's why I was telling you, a Moabite woman, God used her to give us a savior. Isn't that amazing? Ah, and another story, ooh, Boaz, who was the mom?

I don't know if anybody knows this. It's Tamar, who was a prostitute, who was pagan and became a follower of God. Two strangers, two ungodly at the beginning women become so loyal to God that they change the trajectory of the lineage of Jesus. This is amazing. Like, I don't know if you guys like, I get so excited about these things, but I love it. So why did this happen? Because she was loyal. Sometimes loyalty requires waiting. And if you're waiting right now, if you're waiting for a breakthrough, for healing, for a prodigal son or daughter to come back, for an answer prayer, for a new opportunity, just like something new in my life, you know what? Do not fall into the temptation of giving up. Remember that you're gonna find that, that loyalty, that loyalty that you need. You have to trust in God's plan, even in that waiting. Even when you think like, I can't do this anymore. When Ruth said, your God will be my God, everything changed. Her loyalty flowed from her commitment to the Lord. Because we could try to be loyal and we might do a good job at it, but only with God's help, we'll be truly loyal the way he wants us to. Human loyalty, eventually it weakens. But loyalty rooted in God becomes enduring.

It becomes lasting. It becomes something that you even pass on. And when our relationship with God is strong we become loyal spouses, loyal parents, loyal friends, loyal servants, loyal disciples. We are loyal to God's calling over our life. The deeper our roots in God the stronger our loyalty becomes. So let's be rooted like Ruth. She began as an outsider, as a widow, a foreigner. Someone who had no visible future yet because she was rooted in loyalty God transformed her story. Think about it right now God is writing your story. God is writing my story. Like if future generations could read our story would it do the same thing that Ruth's story is doing to us? Would it minister? Would it be like I want to be like that person. I want to do what he did. I want to do what she did. God is writing our story still. Ask yourself am I loyal only when life is easy? Am I faithful and loyal when no one notices? Am I trusting God while I wait? Am I being loyal while I wait? The world is going to celebrate talent and influence and success. But God honors faithfulness and God honors loyalty. And that's big. That's huge. I want to finish off with Galatians 6.9. Let us not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

That's us right there. Let's not grow weary of doing good. Not good according to us. Good according to God. Let's not give up. Say Lord I'm going to be faithful in the waiting. I'm going to be loyal in the waiting. I'm going to keep the faith. I want us to pray right now. I want you to close your eyes. I'm going to pray two prayers. The first one is for this message. Just for this message. Lord, today we come before you, father. This is such a beautiful story that teaches us so much about your goodness. Teaches us so much more than just a love story, Lord. It's a story of you writing your story through the everyday life of people. And that's what you're doing through us, Lord. So help us, Lord, be rooted in loyalty. Help us remain faithful when life gets difficult. Lord, we know difficulties. Difficult situations will come. But we trust in you. We rely on you. We depend on you. We seek in your word for guidance. Lord, help us serve without seeking recognition. Let us do everything that we do to honor you and to help others. To bring glory to your name so that others may know you because of our good works. Because of what we do.

Lord, help us, father, to trust in those seasons of waiting. Whether the waiting has been long. Father, whether we just started the waiting period, we just pray that you give us endurance. That you give us loyalty and faithfulness throughout this waiting. And we love you, Lord. We pray that this message today, Lord, even more, like I mentioned before, more than a love story, it is your love story to us. It is the way that you brought a redeemer into our lives. And we thank you for that. We thank you for the life of Ruth and Naomi, who had such an impact in that lineage of Jesus. Help us, Lord, lead others to you every single day by the way we speak, by the way we think, by the way we act. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege that it is to carry your word to others. To share your word with others. Help us, Lord, to be rooted in loyalty. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen.