ROMANS: Full Sermons

6:4-7

DISCIPLESHIP: It’s A Relationship, Not A Religion!

6:19

OUR OBLIGATION - To Die, Live, Serve, and Be United to God!

Christianity, Expository, Homiletics,
Outlines, Preaching, Romans, Sermons

RUTH: Full Sermons

The following are links to full sermons, preached at FBC La Verne in Southern California or at San Carlos Community Church (SCCC) in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico ...

4:14-15

Link - RUTH - David's Great Grandmother!

Christianity, Easter, Expository,
Homiletics, Judges, Outlines, Preaching, Sermons

RUTH 4:14-15: David's Great Grandmother!

TOPIC: Kinsman Redeemer; Commitment, Loyalty, Promises (of God), Providence, Redemption, Trust

TITLE: RUTH - David's Great Grandmother!
TEXT: Matthew 1:5b & Ruth 4:14-15

“and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth”

“Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may His name become famous in Israel. May He also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.’”

Ruth is a tender story of loyalty and trust; of purity and providence; with a prophetic purpose.

The importance of Ruth is found in the whole of the book … not the verses - very few verses are memory verses.

Possibly during a time of idolatry and immorality; during the period of the Judges … probably just before Gideon was a judge; during a time of intense famine.

Ruth demonstrates selfless character in her loyalty to Naomi and Naomi’s God ...

“Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God”

1:16

Naomi, a widow of the tribe of Judah dutifully followed husband and sons to Moab to survive, leaving all behind.

In Moab, each of her men dies in turn, leaving her a widow and caretaker of two Moabite daughters-in-law … without a redeemer. And Naomi is selfless in her concern for her daughter-in-law.

It’s About God’s Redemptive Plan!

A picture of the grafting in [Romans 11] of the Church ...

Chapter one has Naomi (Israel) and Ruth (Church) in the Land of Moab (world).
Chapter two has Ruth, without a people, gleaning in Boaz’ field (pasture or harvest field of God).
Chapter three has Ruth counseled by Naomi (Law); then on Boaz’ threshing floor (place of offering/sacrifice; winnowing and grace); by law Boaz becomes Ruth’s kinsman redeemer.
And Chapter four has Ruth and Naomi in the home of Boaz (redeemer of both); thus continues the royal line of David.

Tragedy and hardship end in joy and restoration.

Ruth provides no obvious commandments or manifested miracles, no wars or rebellions, no achievements or victories … only Naomi’s redemption from affliction ... an unusual book in the canon (i.e., without a kinsman redeemer). Highlights the providential and permissive aspects of God’s will.

Reveals mortar binding “living” stones to Chief Corner Stone; Ruth is a story central to the Good News.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Where Does the Book of Ruth Lead a Faithful Believer?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. It Leads Us to Trust the Power of God!
II. It Leads Us to Trust the Providence of God!
III. It Leads Us to Trust the Protection of God!
IV. It Leads Us to Trust the Promises of God!
V. It leads us to …

Who is this woman Ruth? A Moabitess, foreigner, stranger; daughter-in-law of Naomi; a childless widow. Moabites were out of Lot’s oldest daughter, through incest with her father; thus, Ruth is not only a woman and a foreigner but the off-spring of immorality and incest.

Soon to be wife of Boaz, her kinsman redeemer; a son of Rahab and David’s grandfather; one of five ladies in the genealogy of Jesus [Matthew 1:1-14]:

• Tamar, the Canaanite mother of Perez and Zerah, through her unlawful relationship with her father-in-law Judah
• Rahab, the harlot, non-Israelite, protector of Joshua’s spies; mother of Boaz, the father of Obed, the son of Ruth
• Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, taken in adultery by David, wife rooted in murder, the great-grandson of Ruth
• and Mary the wife of Joseph and the virgin-mother of Jesus, conceived and born out of wedlock

Ruth: the great-greatx10 grandmother of Jesus, along with Esther, she becomes one of Israel’s most blessed and beloved women.

Ruth is the female counterpart of Job; feeling hopeless, Naomi returned to Israel … not knowing what the future held. Then one of her two daughters-in-law professed allegiance to Naomi and her God, the Living God, the God of the living!

In spite of circumstances, Ruth was faithful to Naomi’s God; so God was faithful to redeem the family.

INQUIRY: Where Does the Book of Ruth Lead a Faithful Believer?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. It Leads Us To Trust The Power of God!

God is mentioned 20 times; 3 names – Jehovah (LORD) 15x, Elohim (God) 2x, the other is Shaddai (Almighty) 2x … both times in this passage

She said to them,

"Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted (Heb = mara) me?"

Ruth 1:20-21

Though her faith waned, it was strong enough to recall that God is Almighty and a doer of great things

II. It Leads Us To Trust The Providence of God!

God has two wills – the one with which He permits us our will; the other is fixed in relation to decreed providence.

This wonderful but brief volume reveals an unforgettable example of God’s providential concern for those who put their trust in Him.

It teaches us not to lose faith, no matter the circumstance or hardship … for His providential will includes those who love Him and are called according to Hid purpose [Romans 8:28].

Twenty times the verb “redeem” is used; and this in a book with only four chapters.

This book makes a special contribution to the truth that God alone chooses whom He will redeem; He is under no obligation to redeem any He chooses not to! (E.g., Orhah)

“He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children.”

Psalms 113:9a

The bible tells us ...

“the LORD enabled her to conceive [lit. gave her con-ception] and she gave birth to a son.”

Ruth 4:13

III. It Leads Us To Trust The Protection of God!

She believed deeply God’s eye was on the sparrow and she knew His eye was on them … she knew nothing surprises God … He is not only powerful but omniscient as well.

When all seemed lost and unfair, she turned to the teachings of her people

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ‘My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight.’

Ruth 3:1-2

IV. It Leads Us To Trust The Promises of God!

When the OT asserts God is Israel’s redeemer, it points to His providential and covenant promises … and who is “the promised of God”?

“Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.”

Psalms 60:7

Thus says the Lord!

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

Genesis 49:10

So the blessing of Jacob on Judah, his son.

“… it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah … .”

Hebrews 7:14

“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah.”

Ruth 1:1,2

Compare this with others –

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.“

Micah 5:2

“And I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look into it; and one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.’”

Revelation 5:4,5

Speaking of the Day of the Lord and judgment …

"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments …”

Deuteronomy 7:9

APPLICATION: Naomi is a picture of Israel while Ruth is the gentile; separated from God and her destiny, without a son to carry on the family’s name.

Naomi has this on her mind:

“Why has this happened to me? What have I done to be without an heir to my husband’s name? Why have I been cut off?”

Was it not the God of Israel, the God of promise that she trusted? Had not blessings been promised and now withheld from this child of YHWH?

For her day, Ruth was an exception to the rule: not a member of “the chosen people of God,” faithful and loyal, and unselfish; she was moral, self-controlled, and spiritual; as well as civil and mature.

CHALLENGE: Are you an exception to the rule for your day? Have you considered what you will be remembered for? Has your faith carved a testimony out of your life? Have you turned from trusting your faith in God to trusting your works?

The Bible says some things about you and me providentially … and has some promises for those who love the Lord and called according to His purpose [Romans 8:28]!

Those who have been redeemed by Almighty God, who were “not a people but are now the people of God” [1 Peter 2:10] should be transformed by their experience, and show this quality of God’s love to others!

1. It was God’s faithfulness to Israel that attracted Naomi to Him; and
2. it was her faithfulness to Him that attracted Ruth to her
3. It was Ruth’s faithfulness to her mother-in-law and her God that attracted Boaz to her; and
   
4. It should be that our faithful and public testimony would attract others as well!

The lost should be attracted to us as the moth is to the light bulb, not to death but to life, life everlasting!

Christianity, Expository, Homiletics,
Outlines, Preaching, Ruth, Sermons

JUDGES: Full Sermons

The following are links to full sermons, preached at FBC La Verne in Southern California or at San Carlos Community Church (SCCC) in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico ...

2:3

THE THORNS & SNARES - The Proof Is Indeed In the Pudding!

quick link: ESTHER Seed Archive (INACTIVE AT THIS TIME)

Christianity, Easter, Expository,
Homiletics, Judges, Outlines, Preaching

ACTS 4:1-12: Of Mice and Men

SERIES: #5 Acts of the Apostles – Witnessing to Jerusalem

TOPIC: Salvation; Boldness, Forgiveness, Power, Preeminence, Regeneration
TITLE: OF MICE AND MEN - And Their Greatest Laid Plans!
[John Steinbeck by way of Robert Burns' famous poem, To a Mouse, which is often quoted as: "The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry (or astray)."]

TEXT: Acts 4:12 (1-12)

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”

[E-MAIL] My first e-mail address was acts_412; I choose that address because of what this verse means to me personally.

You see because of my background I identified with Peter and Paul … you know “the Foot ‘n’ Mouth” twins.

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Series Reminders – A Book of three acts 1) Jerusalem [1-7], 2) Judea & Samaria [8-12], 3) remotest parts of the earth [13-28]; A Book of three themes 1) Preeminence 2) Prominence 3) Power of Authentic Church

Several things to notice …

• Notice the arrested; not only Peter and John were arrested but the healed man as well. [v. 10]
• Notice the reason; speaking to “the people” disturbed the authorities. [v.1]
• Notice the taboo;

the apostles were preaching “the resurrection (of) the dead”

the Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife. [vv.1, 2]

• Notice the power; “in Jesus.” [v.2]
• Notice the fruit; “men … five thousand.” [v.4]
• Notice the arrogance; “they began to inquire, ‘By what power, or in what name, have you done this?’” … no concern for the man or the miracle
• an acknowledgement the miracle took place. [v.7]
• Notice the preacher; … he’s the same one who denied Christ three times …
• Notice the answer; Peter’s third sermon in a few days [vv. 8-12; ]
• Notice the attitude; they were Spirit-filled but courteous, guided in truth and power
• Notice the apostle threw the issue back in the accusers laps …
• Notice Peter’s Sermon

1. “if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man”
2. “by this name … this man [was] healed.”
3. “let it be known to all of you, and all the people of Israel”
4. It was “this name”…

• “whom you crucified.”
• “whom God raised from the dead.”

• Draws from the OT: “He is the stone …”, notice the tense and the change to a definite pronoun

1. Psalm 118:22 –

[He is ] The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.

2. a known psalm
3. a temple song
4. written during temple construction
5. quoted 6x in New Testament …
6. 3x by Jesus Himself [cf. Mark:12:10; Luke 20:17]

• Notice; also that builders rejected, not merchants or artisans or farmers or shepherds … a clear slap at those responsible for building
• Notice: the punctuation ending verse 12! A mark to end all marks! “by which we must be saved”

Bottom-line –

1. the power that delivered the man from his affliction came not from man but from God … all agree because it was universally understood such power could only be from divine;
2. by definition, deliverance from sin and from hell requires an even greater power … that power is still ours! It comes with some stipulations - courtesy, honesty, etc.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What should be learned from the experience of Peter and John?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. WE SHOULD LEARN - WHEN GOD USES US AS HANDS OF HEALING

A. We might be apprehended for it
B. And we might be detained because of it
C. Whether legal and illegal

II. WE SHOULD LEARN - WHEN GOD USES US AS FEET TO THE LOST

A. We might be interrogated

1. We must be prepared to answer
2. We must use God’s Word to answer

B. And we might be persecuted

1. We must be prepared to respond
2. We must be prepared to suffer

III. WE SHOULD LEARN WHEN GOD USES US AS VOICES OF DECREE

A. We must nor fear to confirm

1. His calling
2. His decree

B. And must know who is to be proclaimed

1. There is “no one else”
2. There is “none other name”
3. “by which we must be saved”

APPLICATION: What can we expect in times like ours? Are our times that much different than the times of our text?

We can expect when we approach life in that name …

1. Efforts to silence us! [v.1]
2. Efforts to stir-up those with an opposing worldview! [2]
3. Yet we should expect abundant fruit … if Christ is preached! [4]
4. Arrogant, intolerant, and hypocritical treatment by those who disagree! [7b]
5. Yet we should expect the same power in us if we will just “give heed to Him” [8a; also a theme of series message #4]

How are we to respond? Keep quiet and take the politically correct route or …

[NEW SHERIFF] The Six Shooter was an extremely popular western, broadcast on NBC radio from 1953-54. Jimmy Stewart starred as Britt Ponsett, a Texas plainsman who was know as The Six Shooter.

On one broadcast (“The New Sheriff”; 6/10/54) Britt called a bully’s bluff … even though his gun was several feet away on a dresser. In his signature style, Stewart (as Ponsett) told the tough he could draw his gun anytime he wanted. The surprised crook stammered, “B-b-b-but you a-a-a-ain’t got your six-shooter.” Ponsett stepped toward the thug and drawled, “Things might not work out the way you think they will.” The Six Shooter’s bold confidence made the two-bit thug turn and run.

[DUEL AT LOCKWOOD] From the same program a tee-aged killer went after The Six Shooter in a town called Lockwood … he bragged to everyone if he ran into Ponsett he’d kill him. Well Britt showed up one day and he heard the quiet gunman had come to town, so he sent a messenger to warn Ponsett he was on his way. Ponsett didn’t wait … he rode out on the trail and waited for the kid on the trail.

The gunman found Ponsett sitting on his horse waiting for him; he asked, “Who are you?” He said, “Britt Ponsett” and laid a shotgun over his saddle as the tough started to draw. And he drawled slowly, “Why are you stopping? Go ahead, draw!”

Fantasies concerning life and its living are common to all people … one of mine is stepping toward the next illogical, irrational, relativistic humanist or atheist and saying, “Things might not work out the way you think they will.”

Only in my vision the rascal doesn’t turn and run; instead he comes under conviction, drops to his knees and pleads of God’s forgiveness.

CHALLENGE: Clearly, there is a present need for more boldness amongst the Body of Christ. Jesus didn’t die in order for us to become doormats for every godless heathen we encounter. After all, Jesus was not always the easy-going man popular mythology pictures! [Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-17]

But I declare a truth to you; our fears are not due to obedience but disobedience … a greater fear of man than of God, a greater concern for the horizontal rather than the vertical.

I fear many of our brothers and sisters have become so fearful of the world and its minions they’ve been rendered stingerless in the battle for souls.

In spite of that we must also be …

1. Courteous! [8b]
2. Honest! [10]
3. Bold! [9,11]
4. Biblical! [11]
5. But powerful
6. And fearless! [12]

Somehow, we must train up men and women of greater courage Who will ignore political correctness and shun

• The lust of the flesh
• The lust of the eyes
• And the boastful pride of life

While we were yet sinners ...

Christianity, Expository, Homiletics,
Outlines, Preaching, Sermons

JOB 14:14 - Between Heaven & Earth!

TOPIC: Coping; despair, endurance, light, patience, perseverance, purity, suffering, submission, trials
TITLE: BETWEEN HEAVEN & EARTH – Four Reasons for Our Sojourn!

TEXT:

If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait,
Until my change comes.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is the purpose for our protracted stay?

TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: Job may be the oldest book in the Bible. Chronologically, Job probably lived closer to the flood and creation than Moses (who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament); which means his understanding of God was at least as good as Moses, if not better!

The book has sweeping application ... we all reap heartache and toil in this life, thus a universal need exists among men. It's a reminder:

1. of man's inability to cope with suffering alone,
2. of man's inadequacy to earn approval through effort,
3. of man's impaired understanding of the things of God, as-well-as a reminder that ...
4. man's pride widens the gulf between himself and his God.

Man's word increases despair in the midst of need, God's word is a timely answer for every need; man’s word increases darkness, God's word is light.

Job's friends embody the widely accepted notion that struggle indicates something is wrong with the person or their life!

God answers the need of Job's heart, spreading light in the midst of his suffering.

Redeemed man is caught ...

• somewhere between heaven and earth,
• somewhere between the temporal and the eternal,
• somewhere between the natural and the supernatural

... still in this world but not of it ... and so the redeemed of God live by and on His grace, longing for certainty concerning an after-life. [cf. Philippians 1:21]

Man fears death because of uncertain future. When we cut down a tree, it may sprout again. When we're cut down, will we sprout again? If so, why doesn't God take us home at the time of our rebirth?

Job makes two points in v. 14: first, the promise of resurrection (he says: 'until my change comes,' in answer to his own question 'will he live again'); second, the purpose for our hiatus here ('all the days of my struggle / will wait').

Let's address the latter ...

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is the purpose for our protracted stay?

I. OUR STAY MAKES HEAVEN MORE HEAVENLY!

A. Nothing makes a time of rest as sweet as healthy toil
B. Nothing makes safety as desirable as exposure to threat
C. The polluted streams here only sweeten the promised nectar of glory
D. Our pock-marked paths pale in the radiance of heaven's golden highways and
E. Our battered armor only renders more wonderful the victory to come, when we are welcomed into the congregation of overcomers.

[GOLD] Purity comes with time and toil. The higher the quality of gold, the more
trying has been its journey. In the jewelry industry, worth is based on purity.

II. OUR STAY ALLOWS US TO EXPERIENCE FULL FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST!

Fellowship with Christ is so desirable the worst sorrow is a small price for procuring it. Our fellowship with Jesus would not be full or complete fellowship if we were not to tarry awhile.

He was baptized with a baptism of suffering among men (He bore our stripes); thus, we likewise must be baptized with tribulation, if we would share a sense of His kingdom. [cf. Philippians 1:29]

III. OUR STAY IS FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS!

Why would we want to enter heaven before our work is finished? It may be we're yet commissioned to bear the gospel-light to one who yet cowers in the midnight of their own wilderness.

IV. OUR STAY IS ALSO FOR GOD'S GLORY!

Paul said we are God's workmanship, in which, by our trials in service, He will be glorified ... that we hold out against the testing of our faith with joy is His glory.

[SPURGEON] "A tried saint, like a well-cut diamond, glitters much in the King's
crown." Nothing honors a man as much as the testing of his work. [cf. James
1]

I believe it is the Westminster Catechism which says, "The chief end of man is to glorify God."

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Each man must surrender his concerns to the glory of Jesus, and proclaim, "if lying in the dust of this age elevates my Lord by so much as a micron, let me remain choking and prostrate until the end." Or, "if living on earth forever would procure more glory for Him, then let it be my heaven to be excluded from heaven." [Charles Haddon Spurgeon, paraphrased]

Expository, Homiletics, Job 14:14,
Outlines, Preaching, Sermons, Trials