REFUELING SPIRITUAL RHYTHMS: REDEEMING

We continue our series, Refueling Spiritual Rhythms. When we find our rhythm, then great things begin to happen. The Jaguars won last Sunday, but is this a fluke or the beginning of a trend? It is hard to tell. One game is far from a winning season, but on the other hand, one win builds upon the other. This is a powerful phenomenon. Wins create an upwardly moving staircase of success, and losses create a swirling vortex of defeat. Once a trend is established, it is hard to overcome. The subject this week has the power to turn defeat into victory, and failure into finesse! This powerful force is Redeeming, which is the title of our sermon. We return to the last chapter of Ruth. Who doesn’t like a great ending? This is what we find in Ruth 4:8-16. The ending is made possible by a process of redemption God created for his people. It is also a far grander metaphor for every believer. No one chronicling the story of Ruth could have imagined a “kinsman redeemer” that would be a ransom for all of humanity. Jesus is the kinsman redeemer who redeems us from death. This story helps us to understand the power of God’s redemption and how to move toward God’s wholeness for our lives! We pray that as you read this great ending, you will find the power of God’s redemption flowing into your soul, transforming bitterness into blessing, desperation into determination, and shame into spiritual strength!

Ruth 4:8-16
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal. 9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses! ” 11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” 13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” 16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him.