The Excellent Christian Mother

Thank you Jared for filling in for the Keith. He's a little under the weather. It is a blessing that when Keith's out Jared can fill in. I'm thankful that when I am out there are plenty of other men who can preach God's Word. Matter of fact, I was working on that this week. Sometimes I'll be out on vacation and it was a blessing to know that there are men who can preach God's Word bless you and the church will move forward. That's what should happen all the time. The church should be moving forward.

If you would take your Bible and turn back to the book of Ruth, I did mention that I will ask you to look at a few different places in the book of Ruth. I will mention some other scripture from the New Testament. We will see that the New Testament complements the Old for sure. And that will be a blessing I believe with what we are looking at here in the book of Ruth. Now this morning I want to capitalize on Mother's Day so as to speak to an essential part of the structure and the function of our church. Most of you are familiar with our Grace Life Wheel. That's why I called your attention to our Grace Life Wheel.

I even got you to get a new copy. I have several copies in my office and as a matter of fact the copy that I had earlier this morning had a little coffee on it so I got me a fresh copy this morning. But our Grace Life Wheel is a very simple diagram but that diagram illustrates the basic structure and function of our church. Now notice what we have here. We believe that the preaching of God's Word should be at the very center of our church and church life. Everything we do in the life of our church centers on and emanates from the preaching of God's Word.

That is why I work hard in Hebrews for our Sunday morning study and that is why I work hard in Acts for our Wednesday night study. We believe in every member ministry in and through small groups, ladies with ladies and men with men. We live out Christian body life within our small groups. Lots of life connected to life ministry goes on in our small groups and we study God's Word together in our small groups. We believe in personalized local church centered missions. That is one of the reasons why we are a part of the Anchored in Truth network of churches and pastors and missionaries really around the world.

That is why we are going to Canada this summer and that is why we are looking to be involved in other missions locally, really anywhere God would open up doors. And we believe in the person of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to do the work of the church like we see here. I think about it like this, if we are doing the work of the church, God's way according to God's Word and we look to the person of the Holy Spirit to energize us to do this work well, the Spirit will work. He will empower us and He is to do this work. But there is a part of the will that I have not mentioned yet. Home life discipleship.

Home life discipleship. We believe in home life discipleship where the husband and the father lead in the home. The husband leads his wife and both the husband and the wife work to evangelize their children and to disciple their children. Well, you may say, Pastor Chris, what does Mother's Day have to do with home life discipleship? Celebrating Mother's Day is a good thing. But after quite a bit of prayer and study, I have come to the place where I believe we should take better advantage of things like Mother's Day. So as to see what God's Word says about things like motherhood, fatherhood, the family, home life discipleship.

So in an effort to help you, mothers and fathers, really all of the families in the life of our church, I want us to look at two godly ladies from the Old Testament and this is all about home life discipleship. Now specifically, I want us to look at Naomi and Ruth who were excellent wives. They were excellent top tier wives and mothers. Now before we get into the message or the scripture and the message that we have here in Ruth, I want us to look at the background of the book of Ruth. This will help many of you. The book of Ruth was written during the time of the Judges before Israel had kings. Many of you know who the kings were.

Started off with Saul. He was the first king, then David and then Solomon. And we know this because chapter 1 verse 1 tells us when the book was written. And most reliable sources tell us that the prophet Samuel wrote this book in between the birth of David and Solomon because at the end of chapter 4, Jesse, the father of David is mentioned and David is mentioned, but Solomon is not. One interesting note, there are only two books named after women in the Old Testament. Ruth and Esther. Ruth and Esther. And Ruth is not mentioned again in the Old Testament, but she is mentioned again in the New.

Matthew chapter 1, we see that Ruth is one of the three women named in the genealogy of Jesus. But we need to make sure we know the main characters of the book. We have a godly man named Elimelech and his godly wife named Naomi. And then we have their two sons, Nalon and Chilion, and then their wives who were Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. And then later on in the book, we have a godly Jewish man named Boaz. But it is obvious that early on in the book, the main characters are Naomi and Ruth. And then later on, Boaz becomes one of these main characters.

Now for those of you who might not be familiar with the book and what's going on, I'll give you a short overview. In chapter 1, Elimelech, along with his wife, Naomi, and their sons, they left Israel and they made a very, very difficult journey to the east and south to the land of Moab. But we must ask, why did this Jewish family leave Israel and go to a pagan land? If you know your Old Testament, this gets your attention. That is because the Moabites were the enemies of God. So why would Elimelech take his family to Moab? Simply at this time, there was a severe famine in Israel and most believed they went to Moab for survival.

Some scholars tell us this famine was probably caused by one of the violent invasions in Israel as recorded in the book of Judges. And while living in Moab, their sons, Nalon and Chilion, they married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Then after living in Moab, sometimes Naomi's husband, Elimelech died and her two sons died, leaving only Naomi with her two daughters-in-law. And after about 10 years in Moab, Naomi hears that the famine was over in her land, so she decides to return home to Israel to her own country and her own people. And as she begins to leave for Israel, she tries to convince her two daughters-in-law to remain in Moab.

After all, they were Moabites. Moab was their land. The Moabite culture was their culture. The Moabite gods were their gods. The Moabite people were their people. And as the story goes, Orpah does choose to go back to her family and stay in Moab, while Ruth persisted in going with Naomi to her land and to the people of Israel. Chapter 1, verses 14-22 tell us that this parting tells us of this parting and going to Israel. And verses 16-18 are two key verses in these events. We read those verses earlier. Now in chapter 2, we find Naomi back in her hometown of Bethlehem with Ruth, and we see that they came back at the time of the barley harvest.

And this is important because it becomes a vital source of food and survival for these two destitute widows. You see, according to the law, those who harvested their fields were commanded not to harvest all of their fields. The corners of their fields were to be left unharvested, and any grain that was left in the field after the first cutting was to be left with the poor and the needy in society, especially widows and orphans. So Ruth goes out to glean or to harvest in the fields simply for food. And as Ruth goes out to glean, she finds herself in the field of Boaz.

And as a result of these events, in chapter 2, verses 8-12, we see that Boaz shows Ruth great, great kindness. He tells her that he had heard how she left her homeland to care for her mother-in-law Naomi. And after a day's work in Boaz's field, Ruth returns home to find out from Naomi that she had been working in the field of her late husband's close relative. And if we proceed in these events, we will see that in chapter 3, things get very, very interesting. Naomi sought a husband for Ruth according to the custom of the day, but remember, the custom was tied to the Old Testament scripture.

In Deuteronomy 25, 5-10, God made a provision for young widows who were childless by commanding the nearest brother or kinsman to marry the widow. And this was done for several reasons. This was done to provide for the widow because in their day, widows were destitute. And this was done to ensure that the dead kinsman name would not be forgotten in Israel as well as keeping all of the properties within the family. So Ruth does what Naomi tells her to do. Ruth appealed to Boaz for marriage according to the Word of God. Now what was Boaz's response? Chapter 3, verses 11-13 tells us what he did.

In chapter 4, we see that Boaz was able to marry Ruth according to the custom, which was based on the scripture. And not only did Boaz marry Ruth, but he bought all that belonged to a limilec, chileon, and malon. And near the end of chapter 4, we see that God enabled Ruth to conceive a son and she named him Obed. We also see the great spiritual heritage which was given to Boaz, Ruth and Obed, in chapter 4, verses 16-22. And we'll get to that heritage a little later. Now question, why do I have us in the book of Ruth this morning? Here we have two excellent wives and mothers. They are first-rate, top-notch wives and mothers.

Using our language, we can say that they were excellent Christian wives and mothers. And in our message, we will look at certain spiritual characteristics that these women possessed. And notice this church examining these two women will help build stronger wives and mothers within our church. This will help build stronger families within our church. And this is all about home life discipleship here at Grace Life Church, Brookhaven. Now before I move on, I want to address a few different people. Men, don't check out because you think this is for you. I'm going to address you along the way.

Unmarried women, don't check out because you don't think this is for you. This is for you. This is for all of us. This is for all of us. So I want us to get started with Naomi first and then we will pick up with Ruth a little later on. And I want us to see three things about Naomi. Number one, notice that Naomi followed her husband. Notice that Naomi followed her husband. Look back at chapter 1 verses 1 to 2. In the days when the judges ruled, that gives us the time frame here, there was a famine in the land, that would have been the land of Israel. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to Sergern or travel in the country of Moab.

And notice, he and his wife and his two sons, verse 2, the name of the man was Elimelech. The name of the wife was Naomi. The name of his two sons were Malon and Chileon. Now a question we need to ask here, was it wrong for Elimelech to take his family and leave Israel and go to Moab? Which was a pagan lanyard. Was it wrong? Some say that Elimelech was wrong in doing this, but we need to see that there is no Old Testament scripture that would have condemned what he did. Some commentators say that they intended to stay in Moab just long enough to survive.

Some say that this was a temporary residence simply for survival's sake, and I believe that was their intention. But the situation was this. Elimelech led his family on a very long, very difficult and very dangerous journey into a foreign land for survival. And he did not disobey any Old Testament scripture in doing this. He was simply doing the best that he knew in leading his family for survival. Also, this man, Elimelech, seems to have been a godly man. His name means "My God is King" and Jewish tradition and extra-biblical writings tell us that he was a great man of God. He was of the tribe of Judah. He was related to Jewish nobility.

And later on in the book we will see that he was related to a very godly Jew named Boaz. So we have every reason to believe that Elimelech was a man of God and he was doing what he felt God was leading him to do in taking care of his family, even if that meant going to a difficult place called Moab. But notice that Naomi possessed a vital spiritual characteristic for a woman of God. She followed her husband in what he did to lead his family. And here I want us to see this vital spiritual characteristic as seen in the New Testament. Now we know these scriptures, but I'm going to turn over into the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 5.

Notice what Paul says. Of course he's writing to the Ephesian church and he says, "Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord." That as to the Lord is key. "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior." Verse 24. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything. Notice that in everything to their husbands. Now notice what is taught and explained in Ephesians is what Naomi lived and exemplified. In Ephesians, Paul gave an absolute command which is applied to all Christian wives. They are to submit to their husbands in all things.

And notice two specifics. This submission is limited in that it is only to her husband and no other man. And this submission is unlimited in that there are no conditions given. And this submission is all inclusive in that she is to be submissive to him at all things. Obviously, not unto ungodliness. And get this, this submission is directly related to her relationship to Christ Jesus. She is to willingly, lovingly submit to her husband as unto the Lord. That's what the text says, as unto the Lord. Now some may say that I'm reading the New Testament back into the Old Testament or that I am interpreting Naomi and her life in light of the New.

Listen, these standards from the New Testament were expected in the Old Testament as well. Naomi exemplified and lived this submission to her husband. Now, great life ladies. If your husband loves God, if your husband is walking with the Lord, if your husband is plugged into healthy Christian body life with other men who love God as well, then you should gladly follow your husband. Let me repeat that. If your husband loves God, is walking with God as best as he knows how, if he is plugged into healthy Christian body life with other men, other men who can keep him accountable and do, then you should gladly and willingly follow your husband.

Now, great life men, you're not off the hook here. Are you walking with God as you should? Are you in the Word of God like you should? Are you in prayer like you should? Are you walking in obedience to the Lord as you should? And are you plugged into healthy Christian body life with other men who love God? Right here at Grace Life Church. See, you need men around you. Men, make sure you're working hard to lead your wife in your home so that your wife does not follow you off in a ditch. I've seen a lot of Christian wives have to follow a husband who's leading into a ditch. Men don't lead your wife and family into a ditch.

Now, look at how all this is supposed to work. This is God's way, God's plan for the family. God's plan is that the husband loved the Lord and served God and obeyed God's Word. God's plan is that he would lead his family, lead his wife in every way. And God's plan is that the wife would follow the husband. And look, ladies, you should have great, great comfort here. So Naomi followed her godly husband. And number two, notice that Naomi trusted God to provide. Notice that Naomi trusted God to provide. Now, there is not a specific scripture I want to read here.

We read chapter one earlier, or a portion of chapter one, which gives us a good idea here. But we must read the entire book to see how she trusted God to provide. And if we read the book, we will see that trusting God was a prevailing spiritual trait or characteristic in Naomi's life. And she did not only trust God when things were easy. She trusted God through a lot of difficult circumstances and great, great spiritual and physical trials. And if we read the entire book, we will see the fact that Naomi went through some terrible circumstances that would have tested the faith of the most godly.

That is why it is important to read and to understand the entire book rather than just two or three verses. But I want to point out a few things about Naomi's life here. From the book, we see that she lived the ups and downs of life. She had a life in her homeland of Israel, and then she had to journey thousands of miles to dangerous Moab with her family just to survive. Most scholars say that Naomi and her husband were respected people in Israel, but they had to move to a strange land, a strange culture, a pagan culture. Again, just to survive, just to keep the family together.

She had a godly husband, two sons and daughters-in-law, and then she lost all but one daughter-in-law Ruth. And on top of that, Ruth was a foreigner. So she found herself destitute and almost all alone. And when she did make the dangerous journey back to Israel, she was so broken she insisted that the people not call her by her name Naomi, which means "pleasant." She insisted on being called "Mara," which means "bitter." And she went on to say, "Call me Mara, for God has dealt very bitterly with me." And then things do turn around. Ultimately, God provided for her, and God provided for Ruth.

God provided a husband for Ruth, money from her husband's properties, and a grandson to carry on the family name. Naomi was restored, and she was blessed by God in every way. But notice, she was blessed by God even in the deepest of trial. So what do we need to see here? Naomi possessed one vital spiritual characteristic for a godly woman. She simply trusted God in every circumstances of life. And here, I want us to see this vital spiritual characteristic in the New Testament as well. And here, I want us to look at the life of Paul in Philippians 4, 11-13.

Now, those of you who remember our study through the book of Philippians, you remember that Paul was in a Roman prison cell when he wrote this. Paul said in Philippians 4, 11-13, "Not that I am speaking of being in need," now wait a minute, he was in prison, "for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound." In other words, I know what it's like to be down. I know what it's like to be up. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. And notice, I can score all the touchdowns I want through him who strengthens me.

That's not what he said. I can do all things. Remember, he's in a prison. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now, notice what is taught in Philippians and seen in Paul is what is lived out in and exemplified in Naomi. In these verses, Paul says that he knew what it meant to be content or satisfied in what every situation God ordained for his life. Paul knew how to be satisfied in God when he was lacking, even in poverty. He knew how to be satisfied in God when he was in plenty.

He had the spiritual strength and the spiritual vitality to not just grit his teeth and get through, but to walk with God victoriously in every circumstance. Again, some may think I'm reading the New Testament back into the old or that I am interpreting Naomi's life and experience in light of the new. But notice what we see in Paul and taught in Philippians, Naomi lived and she exemplified. She simply trusted God and she trusted God to provide in every circumstance of her life. Grace life, ladies, mothers, wives, this is what God expects of you.

God expects you to walk with him and to trust in him no matter the circumstances, no matter the trials. And grace life, men, if your wives are to follow your lead, then how are you when trial and hardship comes your way? How are you when hardship and trial come to the family? Do you fall apart? Do you wither like wet toilet paper or do you trust God to provide no matter what, therefore imparting strength to your wife? I have said it before, there are really two kinds of Christians. Those who are going into a trial and those who are coming out of a trial.

But I've also said this, that in my humble opinion, I believe that if you show me a Christian who's never gone through a trial, I will show you an immature Christian. And what I mean by that is this, there is a level of maturity that can only come by going through trial. And so those of you who are mothers and wives and husbands, you must lead here. You must learn to walk with God victoriously in the ups and in the downs. So Naomi trusted in God to provide no matter the circumstance. And then last number three, notice that Naomi obeyed God's word. Notice that Naomi obeyed God's word.

Now here I want to turn to chapter three, verses one to five. Chapter three, verses one to five of the book of Ruth. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is it not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley, or harvesting barley, tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies, then go and uncover his feet and lie down. And he will tell you what to do." And she replied, "All that you say, I will do." Now here in chapter three, we see what we would think to be a very strange cultural custom and norm. But this is according to God's word, folks. We see this taught or explained in Deuteronomy 25, verses five to ten. Basically, this is what was happening here. The law of Moses stated that if a man died childless, a close relative should step forward to marry the widow. And there were several reasons for this command. First, this was to perpetuate the family name.

I mentioned that before. Also, this was to keep the family and the family land together. I said that before. And this was important that when the man died without a son, that one in his family should marry his widow so that a son could be born to carry on his name. And notice how this applied to Ruth. She had been widowed and without child. And because Boaz was a relative of her father-in-law, Limilek, he was eligible to redeem his relative in marriage. And as it turned out, he was willing to redeem Ruth, so he followed the written customs and the law to redeem and marry Ruth. So what do we need to see here with Naomi?

She possessed one vital spiritual characteristic for a woman of God. She knew God's Word and she obeyed God's Word. She put her trust in God's Word so as to find a husband for Ruth and so as to provide security for herself. Simply in all of these circumstances, she obeyed God's Word and she led Ruth to obey God's Word as well. Here is where we do not need to turn to the New Testament to see this vital characteristic. We see this characteristic in one short verse.

In John 14, 15, Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." And here we see that Naomi demonstrated that she loved God. And she demonstrated that she loved God by obeying God's Word. She put her trust in the Word of God. Simply she obeyed God's Word. Now, Grace Life, ladies, you must know God's Word if you're going to obey God's Word. It's really simple. It's really simple. You must know God's Word if you're going to obey it. And I can turn that around and say, you cannot obey the Word if you do not know it. So, ladies, how's your Bible study? How's your Bible study?

There are all types of distractions that can pull you away from being disciplined and habitual to study your Bible. But, Grace Life men, how are you in leading your family if you do not know God's Word as you should? You see, you've got to know God's Word so as to know how to lead your family. But notice, look at what goes on in the life of Grace Life. Look at what we feed you. Systematically, we teach you through God's Word on Sunday and Wednesday night. I work hard to systematically teach you God's Word. We study God's Word in small groups. You get a steady diet of God's Word.

You can take all that we teach you here and go study it on your own and your cup will be overflowing. I think back to one of the young men in the life of our church. Several months ago, he came to me and was expressing some difficulty at home and difficulty in trying to study and figure out certain doctrines. And I just put the brakes on him. I said, "You be faithful on Sunday morning. You be faithful in small group. And you be faithful on Wednesday night as well. And the preached and the taught Word of God will form you and all those rough edges will be smoothed out." You know what he said? Pastor, you're right.

See, folks, if we just do it according to what we see in God's Word, it'll work. So Naomi obeyed God's Word and she knew God's Word. Now, at this point, I want to move from Naomi to Ruth. Whereas with Naomi, we looked at two things, two observations. I want us to notice two things about Ruth. Number one, notice that Ruth was converted. This will surprise some of you. Notice that Ruth was converted. Let's look back at chapter 1, verses 15 to 18. Verse 15. And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods." See, this is Naomi trying to convince Ruth to go back.

"See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law." But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go. And where you lodge or stay, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and you're God my God. Where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death, parts me from you." Now, in using the language that I used, her being converted, I'm not saying that she experienced conversion like we see in John 3. But we do see her becoming a true follower of the one true God.

And in these verses, she does give a clear testimony of converting from worshiping the pagan gods of the Moabites to worshiping the one true God. And she gives clear evidence of this conversion after these events by how she lived. So, what do we see here in Ruth? She possessed one vital spiritual characteristic for a woman of God. She was converted. She was converted. Therefore, she attained a true relationship with God. And here, I want us to see this vital spiritual characteristic in the New Testament, but from an Old Testament figure, Abraham. And here's where I will turn to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 4, verses 1 to 3.

Now, listen to what Paul says here. Again, he's speaking of Abraham, an Old Testament figure. "What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast or brag about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say?" And he's quoting the Old Testament here. "And Abraham believed God, and it was counted or credited to him as righteousness. Now, to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due." Now, notice what is taught here in Romans about Abraham. What's taught here is this. What's taught here is exemplified in Ruth.

Paul was using Abraham and the Old Testament Scriptures to teach that justification before God is by faith and faith alone. Abraham was not made right by God by any works or law keeping. Paul was also quoting Genesis 15.6, and he was saying that Abraham believed. He was a man of faith. He believed, and he was justified before God by grace through faith. Again, some may think that I'm reading the New Testament back into the Old, but Paul was using the Old Testament to confirm what he was teaching in the New. The simple fact is this. Just like Abraham and what Paul was teaching in Romans 4, Ruth was justified by faith.

And notice Ruth's own testimony. In verse 16, she declared that she received a new family and a new people. And the climax of her confession was when she said she received a new God. In verse 17, she declared that she trusted God even in death, and she trusted God to give her a new life. This was radical. This was dramatic because she was a Moabite. She was an enemy of God, and the Moabites were a cursed people according to Deuteronomy 23, 3 to 6. And every way, the Moabites had four strikes against them. First was their origin. Do any of you know where the Moabites came from? I'll shock you.

If you read Genesis 19.30, you will see that the Moabite people came about from an incestuous relationship. Second was their God, Kimish. They actually practiced child sacrifice in their religion. Third was they refused to help the Jews during the Exodus. And fourth, they even tried to curse Israel. So what I'm trying to show you is this. She was an enemy of God, but Ruth was converted. She believed she became a true follower of the one true God. And Grace Life ladies, you cannot be the excellent wife and mother like we see in Naomi and Ruth unless you've come to saving faith.

Just like Ruth, you must come to saving faith if you have not already come to saving faith. And you cannot make the great impact on your children and your family unless you know God. In Grace Life men, you cannot lead your wife. You cannot lead your family unless you know God as well. See, it all hinges on being born again. And to possess all that we see in Naomi and Ruth and all that I have unpacked for the family, we must do as they did. Both the husband and the wife must know God. Sometimes I get questioned as to why we don't give a traditional invitation. Actually, the invitation is all throughout the message.

Now right here, I will pause and I will extend an invitation. If you've not come to true saving faith, come to Christ. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. The invitation for you is that you would come to faith in Christ today. I'll be glad to minister to you and counsel you and help you. Any of the elders will be glad to minister to you and help you. Any of your small group leaders will be glad to sit down with you and help you in your conversion to Christ. Come to faith in Christ. So Ruth was converted. She came to saving faith. She believed God just as Abraham. And then last, number two, notice that Ruth had a godly heritage.

Notice that Ruth ultimately had a godly heritage. Now here is where I want us to be back in the book of Ruth in chapter 4 verses 13 to 22. Verse 13 to 22. This is at the end of the book now. Verse 13. "So Boaz took Ruth, according to the law, according to the custom, in marriage. She became his wife. And he went in with her, and the Lord gave her conception." Let me pause here. That text says the Lord gave her conception. It's the Lord that grants us the ability to have children. Ladies, if you're struggling with infertility, I don't understand the ways and the plans of God, but it is God that ordains these things.

Look to God in those things. I've seen lots of men and lots of women struggle with infertility, and they struggle to get answers. It might not take the pain away, but it is God that ordains these things. God works out all things together for His good in all of our lives. We see that in the story of a limo like in his family, right? Great trial and difficulty was ordained of God. So if that's you, you look to God. Look to God. "So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in with her, and the Lord gave her conception. And she bore a son.

Then the women said to Naomi, 'Bless be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel.'" See, God came full circle in the whole thing. Verse 15, "He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, have given birth to him. Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, 'A son has been born to Naomi, they named him Obed.' And he was the father of Jesse, the father of David." Now, these are the generations of Perez.

Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amenadab, Amenadab fathered Nashon, Nashon fathered Solomon, Solomon, Solomon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. That would be King David. Now, look at this. Ruth went from being a single widow pagan Moabite to converting to the God of Naomi to journeying to a strange new land Israel. She lived as a poor widow in Israel to being redeemed in marriage by one of the most respected, godly men in the land to then bearing a son, and not just a son, but one of the forefathers of King David.

She became a part of the genealogy of King David and ultimately even the promised Messiah of God. Now, we don't have time, but if you go to Matthew chapter 1, verses 1 to 6, what do we see? The genealogy of Jesus. And all of those genealogies have a purpose, folks. Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience, and so genealogy was important. And in Matthew 1, verses 1 to 6, we see the genealogy of the promised Messiah of God, and who do we find? Ruth the Moabite. So here in Matthew, we see the genealogy of Jesus, God's promised Messiah.

And in the first six verses, we see the genealogy coming from Abraham on the King David, and we see Ruth, who was David's great grandmother, simply, she had a great and wonderful spiritual heritage. So what do we need to see and learn here? Ruth possessed one vital spiritual characteristic of a moment of God, a godly heritage, a godly heritage. But a question or two here, think about this with me, did God give her this heritage, or did she carve out this heritage? Let me rephrase those questions. Did her heritage come from God, or did she make her heritage? And the answer is yes.

There were certain things that God did, and Ruth had no power over those things, but there were certain things that she did, and she was responsible to do. But the simple fact is this, notice, she obtained a great and godly heritage. And Grace Life Ladies, this includes all of our ladies, not just mothers, what kind of a heritage are you building? What kind of a heritage are you building? Are you building a godly heritage in your personal testimony before you come to marriage? Are you building a heritage in your marriage? Are you building a heritage in your home before children? Are you building a heritage in your children and in your home?

And notice, the time to start building that godly heritage is now. But I'll tell you something, it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you. It's going to cost you a lot of work, and you'll have to turn your back on a lot. Ruth turned her back on a lot. It cost. Grace Life men, are you building a godly heritage in your personal testimony, in your marriage? You might say, "Pastor, I didn't come to faith in Christ until after I was married." You might say, "Pastor, I didn't come to faith in Christ until after I had sinned, a whole bucket load of sin." In Christ, those things can be redeemed. Ruth was an enemy of God, folks.

And so men, are you building a godly heritage in your personal testimony, in your marriage, in your children, in your home? And notice, the godly heritage of your family starts with you. It starts with you, men. Don't sit back and wait on your wife to do it. Some of you are starting from scratch. What I mean by that is this, if you look back into your own upbringing and your parents, you'll have to be honest and say, "You had an ungodly heritage." So you're starting from scratch. As a matter of fact, some of you are going to have to leave Moab and go to Israel, just like Ruth. Let me say this.

Some of you are struggling to build the godly heritage that you need to build, that God expects you to build because you won't leave Moab. Your mom, your dad, your family that you grew up in, you grew up with a bunch of Moabites. You're going to have to leave them. So some of you are starting from scratch. Some of you are first generation Christians. What a better place to learn how to do that than in the life of a healthy church. So Ruth had a godly heritage. Now at this point, I want to step away from the book, and I want us to notice what we have been studying. And notice that I've not been exhaustive.

But we have been looking at two godly women. We have examined certain spiritual characteristics within these two women that prove and show their godliness. Both Naomi and Ruth were godly women. Now right here, I want to change the order of these characteristics, and then I'm going to make some application. And then I will conclude with the title, really the theme of the message. But notice Ruth was converted. She was converted to following the one true God. Just like Abraham, she believed God, and it was counted to her as righteousness.

Naomi followed her husband no matter what, even when she had to follow him into a foreign pagan culture, even when she had to follow him in difficult circumstances. Naomi obeyed God's word in the most difficult of circumstances, and she trusted God to provide God's way. And she was tested and tested and tested along the way. But Ruth and Naomi attained a great and godly heritage. They built a great and godly heritage by God's grace. God gave them this great and godly heritage, oh, that we have today. So Grace Life Ladies, here's the summary of the message for you this Mother's Day, and us men too. Make sure you're born again Christian.

Cultural Christianity won't do it. A Christianity that you've inherited from your family won't do it. Follow your Christian husband. Follow your Christian husband. Men, let's make sure that our wives are not following us in a ditch. No one obey God's word. We've got to know God's word to obey God's word. Trust God to provide in life in the good times, and even in the most extreme of trials, and let's work hard to build a heritage of godliness, and to trust God to build the heritage that He has for us in us. Grace Life Ladies, if you do these things, you will be what we see here in Naomi and Ruth, the excellent Christian Mother.

That's the title of the message, the excellent Christian Mother. Now I'm coming full circle as I close. Notice what this is all about, Home Life Discipleship here at Grace Life Church Brookhaven. You see? Home Life Discipleship here at Grace Life Church Brookhaven. Now I close with your Mother's Day assignment for all of us this week. Men, ladies, read and study the book of Ruth. It's four chapters. Read and study the book of Ruth. And if you do, I believe God the Holy Spirit will take His word, end this message, and He will work in our minds and in our lives and in our homes and in our families to make us better at what?

Home Life Discipleship. So let's pray and commit these things to the Lord as we always do.