It Is Decision That Determines Destiny

March 11, 2015 Save Article

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Ruth 1:1-18 (Program: 0914, Air date: 3.2.2014)

1. INTRODUCTION
   1. The book of Ruth was written during difficult days; there was apostasy, anarchy and famine in the land.
      1. Judges 21:25
   2. The book of Ruth is bright hope for dark days.
   3. The story of Ruth is a redemptive story: Ruth is an Old Testament picture of the church, while Boaz is a picture of our Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus.
   4. If we find ourselves in a time of darkness, trouble or despair, then Jesus Christ will be to us what Boaz was to Ruth.
   5. The first chapter of Ruth tells of choices made and their consequences.

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF A WILLING CHOICE (Ruth 1:1-2)
   1. We are free to choose.
      1. God sets before us today the same choice that was before Elimelech: the choice between life and death, blessing and cursing.
      2. Deuteronomy 30:19
      3. God desires us to choose life.
   2. We are not free not to choose.
      1. We always make a choice.
      2. Some say that they will not say yes or no to Jesus; that they simply will not make a decision about Jesus. But that in itself is a decision: to choose not to say yes to Jesus is to say no to Christ.
      3. Matthew 12:30
      4. Luke 11:23
   3. We are not free to choose the consequences of our choice.
      1. We first make our choice, and then our choice chooses for us.
      2. Our choices inevitably bring consequences into our lives and into the lives of those close to us.
   4. The biggest decision we will ever make is to say yes to Jesus as Lord.

3. THE PROBLEMS OF A WRONG CHOICE
   1. Elimelech made a wrong choice when he decided to go into the land of Moab.
      1. The Moabites were enemies of Israel.
      2. Moab was a cursed land and a pagan nation.
   2. Elimelech made a wrong choice due to three basic reasons:
      1. He had a wrong motive.
         1. Ruth 1:1
         2. He was motivated by physical reasons, not spiritual reasons. He placed the physical above the spiritual.
            1. Psalm 37:25
            2. Matthew 6:33
         3. Oftentimes, our priorities are out of order: we love things and try to use God rather than loving God and using things.
      2. He had a wrong method.
         1. Elimelech walked by sight, not by faith.
         2. Faith is believing God in spite of appearances and obeying God in spite of consequences.
         3. In Psalm 55:6, the Psalmist describes a desire to run away from problematic circumstances; but God desires to give us the wings of an eagle to mount up over our problems.
            1. Isaiah 40:31
      3. He had the wrong master.
         1. When Elimelech went over into Moab, he went into enemy territory.
            1. The Moabites had been enemies of God.
            2. The Moabites had invaded Israel and ruled over Israel for 18 years.
            3. God had placed a curse upon the Moabites.
         2. When we live in disbelief and disobedience, we dishonor God and we move into the enemy’s territory.
   3. Elimelech’s choice brought consequences:
      1. It brought death.
         1. Ruth 1:3-5
      2. It brought deprivation.
         1. Elimelech wanted to be blessed.

4. THE POWER OF A WISE CHOICE (Ruth 1:7-18)
   1. Ruth decided to go with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem.
   2. Ruth’s decision changed the course of her life.
      1. Ruth had previously lived a cursed life.
         1. Deuteronomy 3:23
         2. Ephesians 2:12
      2. Ruth had lived a crushed life.
         1. She had known poverty and deprivation.
         2. She had lost her husband and father-in-law.
      3. Ruth had a condemned life.
         1. Because her husband had died, she had a sentence of death upon her.
         2. Like Ruth, we have a sentence of death upon us because Adam, the head of the human race, died; and in Adam, we all die.
            1. 2 Corinthians 5:17
   3. When Ruth decided to stay with Naomi and serve the living God, all things became new.
      1. Ruth 1:16-17
      2. There was a new determination.
      3. There was a new direction.
      4. There was a new dependence.
      5. There was a new desire.
      6. There was a new devotion.
      7. There was a new dedication.
      8. There was a new destiny.
         1. When we choose Christ, we too have a new destiny.
         2. Romans 8:38-39

5. CONCLUSION
   1. Ruth’s decision to go to Bethlehem and follow the Lord God changed her life. God made all things new for Ruth, and she became an ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ.
   2. When we choose to follow Jesus Christ, He makes all things new for us.

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