[Music] I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty the Lord has testified against me and the almighty has brought Calamity upon me who would want me wherever you go I will go wherever you live I will live your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God the Book of [Music] Ruth welcome to secret Church 24 wherever you are whether in a home church building some other setting all around the world I cannot wait to dive in God's word with you in the coming hours so as a reminder
for those of you've done secret Church before or as an introduction for those of you who are doing Secret church for the first time the purpose of our time together is not just to have a Bible study it's to spend concentrated time with God in his word In light of our persecuted sisters and brothers around the world who gather late at night in secret for hours at a time at Great risk to their lives so we're going to soak in in God's word together and we're going to learn about the persecuted Church specifically about the
secret Church in North Korea we're going to intercede for them and we're going to take up an offering for the spread of the gospel and support of the church in places where Christians are Persecuted so here's the plan hopefully you have study guide that will help you as we walk word for word verse by verse through one of the most beautiful books in all the Bible the book of truth and there's space in that study guide for you to make notes write things down that you see as we study my hope is that by the
end of this secret Church you'll have this resource in your hands with all kinds of Reflections on the Book of Ruth and not just notes on a page but Truths imprinted on your heart that you can look back at in the future and that you can share with other people so God's word is never intended to stop with you it's always intended to spread through you the Bible's clear every disciple of Jesus is a disciplemaker for the Nations that's who you are as a Christian so listen make notes tonight in such a way that you
would be ready to walk somebody else through the Book of Ruth just picture my first exposure in person to The persecuted church this was couple decades ago in Sudan this is before there was even a South Sudan I remember visiting our persecuted sisters and brothers in the middle of of wartime there they had just been ravaged by persecution and sitting in a mud hut with brothers and sisters who have been through so much and were walking through the word and the whole time I saw them I ever well really ever saw their eyes when we
were walking through the word Because they were writing down every single thing I said and they came up to me afterwards and they said we believe we have a responsibility to take everything we're learning from God's word translate it into our tribes languages and teach it in our tribes so they weren't just listening for themselves they were listening for others and that's the picture I want to put in your mind from the beginning I want to encourage you challenge you to Listen in the coming moments like they were listening not just for yourself but for
the sake of others who need to hear the truths we're about to walk through and in the process let God's word change your life while also equ ipping you to lead others to life change through his word and along the way we're going to have concentrated time in prayer for our sisters and brothers around the world for whom secret church is not a once a year event but a daily reality so to set That stage before we even dive into the word let's start by considering the secret Church in North Korea watch this with me
North Korea is shrouded in mystery very few get in and those who do know little about what goes on inside but we do know this Christians and the gospel are not welcome but it wasn't always this way in fact pongyang the capital of North Korea was once a Haven for Christian Revival And the birthplace of a missionary movement but not anymore so what happened how did North Korea become what it is today when I see the current North Korea I just feel like the evil controlling the Kim's um regime and they are human being it's
definitely not a God how did North Korea go from being a hub for gospel growth to a stronghold for persecution and is there any hope for the gospel to survive they have only Christ revealed through his word and sometimes even just a few words here and a few words there and for them it is sufficient this is hard to reach North [Music] [Music] Korea all right you ready let's dive into the book of of Ruth into this beautiful breathtaking heart-wrenching lifechanging story of tragedy loss despair hope Triumph loyalty even romance for couples this is going
to be Like being on a date or for singles if the Lord so leads remember this study for a future date but far more than just a love story The Book of Ruth is a story within a story and it's not just a story about Ruth it's a story about us it's a story about how God takes ordinary unsuspecting people from despair to delight and from hurt to Hope even or especially amidst difficult dark times and like every other Bible book every single word we're about to read is Inspired by the holy spirit of God
for your good and my good and I want to show you that no word in this book is wasted now we don't know who the author of the book of Ruth is but this writer under the inspiration of the holy spirit is brilliant all throughout the book the author uses literary devices masterfully some of which we can catch in our English translations but others of which we can't see simply because we're not reading it as it was originally written For example there are times when a point is emphasized through the the use of alliteration in
the Hebrew or there's a staccato like style where the author describes certain events using language we just can't catch in the English so we're going to read it slowly together pause along the way and I want to point out some of these literary details that the Holy Spirit has inspired this author to write in order to help us see the beauty of this story I want to tell this Story well to you knowing that the same Holy Spirit who inspired these words centuries ago is with us right now to illuminate our minds to open our
eyes and ears and hearts to hear and see what God is saying to each of us right now this is what I love about gathering around God's word together like this because as multitudes of people gathered in thousands of places right now each of us is walking through certain situations in our lives and God God in these coming Moments wants to speak to each of us individually and together so his Spirit wasn't just moving back then when this book was written the holy spirit is moving right now as we're walking through God's word in the
next few hours so can we just start by praying together for God to speak to each of us and for us to have ears to hear amidst all the things we're walking through in each of our lives so will you bow your heads with Me let's just go before the Lord together say God we praise you for your word we praise you for the opportunity to gather around it specifically in in this setting we say with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world that your word is worth our lives we want to know you
more we want to know your love for us more and we want to love you More so we are asking right now that in this time together in the Book of Ruth that you would speak to each of our hearts individually and that you would speak to us as your church collectively you would help us to hear all that you want to say to us Comfort us convict us teach us encourage us draw us closer to you and lead us to become more like Jesus we pray in his Name amen all right Ruth chapter one
and even as we start you might just circle the name Ruth and make a note because this is only one of two books in the entire Bible named after a woman the other is think about it say it out loud if you know it Esther right so this is one of two books named after a woman and this is the only book in the Old Testament named after somebody who is not Jewish so we know from the start this book is Unique so with that setup let's read verse one in the days when the Jud
Jes ruled there was a famine in the land and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab he and his wife and his two sons so let's pause here and make sure we're seeing the stage that's being set and specifically the time period when this story takes place when the judges ruled now you have in your study guide a table of contents for the first 17 books Of the Bible and I want us to see where this story Ruth fits into the bigger story of the entire Bible so you
look at that table of contents first 17 books in the Old Testament these books basically give us the history of the Old Testament so Genesis through Deuteronomy the first five books tell the story of God's people leading up to the promised land then the books of Joshua and judges tell the story of God's people taking and settling in the promised land and Joshua And judges are fairly chronological but then Ruth actually spotlights a story that happened during the time of the judges most say somewhere around Judges chapter 10 you might even write that down so
Judges chapter 10 is about the time frame when the Book of Ruth happened then so just keep going you have 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings which tell the story of prophets like Samuel and then Kings starting with Saul and David and Solomon and then the kings In the divided monarchy between Israel in the north and Judah in the South and then what's interesting is first and 2 Chronicles actually summarize what we've already read about in first and second Kings but from the perspective of the Southern Kingdom of Judah it's an emphasis
on the kings in David's line so first and 2 Chronicles don't add new Chron chronology they just reiterate chronology that we've already read about in first and 2 Kings and then Chronologically you have Ezra and Nehemiah that happened next and much like Ruth does with judges Joshua and judges Esther actually jumps back into the time period between Ezra and Nehemiah most people likely think around Ezra 6 and 7 and that's where you see the Book of Esther actually happen and you put all that together that is the history of the Old Testament and every book
after this in the Old Testament is written sometime in this History so all that to come back now to the Book of Ruth this book happened in the days when the judges ruled so it's telling us this is in the middle of Judges as the people of God were settling into the promised land so what that means is if you were holding your Bible right now maybe some of you have your Bible if you were looking at Ruth chapter 1 you could turn back one page and the last verse in the Book of Judges and
you'd see a summary of these days When the judges rules so I put that verse in your study guide listen to this judges chap 21: 25 the last verse right before Ruth in the Bible says in those days there was no king in Israel everyone did what was was right in his own eyes so this was a day before there were any Kings and everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes which was not a good thing the people of God were indulging in all kinds of immorality and idolatry it was a dark
Time made even worse so now back in Ruth chap 1 verse one by the fact that there was a famine in Bethlehem now most of us us today have no idea what famine is like like we have no idea what it means to be truly without food not knowing if you will have enough food to live or if your children will have enough food to live literally starving like when we're hungry we sometimes say I'm starving but we're we're not starving far from it There are people in Yemen who are starving amidst Civil War right
now and we have brothers and sisters in North Korea who are starving but we're not starving and in this verse what's even more interesting is that this famine is happening in Bethlehem and Bethlehem the name Bethlehem actually means House of Bread so the picture here is that the House of Bread has no bread and as a result this Jewish man fle Bethlehem and goes to Mo Moab now as soon as we hear Moab we need to realize Moab is not just a foreign land geographically Moab is a foreign land spiritually and historically in fact look
in your study guide there at Genesis chapter 19 look at how and when the moabites began Genesis 19 says now lot went up out of zoor and lived in the hills with his two daughters for he was afraid to live in zoor so he lived in a cave with his two daughters the firstborn said to the younger our father Is old and there's not a man on Earth to come into us after the manner of all the Earth come let us make our father drink wine and we will lie with him that we may preserve
our Offspring from our father so they made their father drink wine that night and the firstborn went in and lay with her father he did not know when she lay down or when she arose the next day the firstborn said to the younger behold I lay last night with my father let's make make him drink wine Tonight also then you go in and lie with him that we may preserve Offspring from our father so they made their father drink wine that night also and the younger arose and lay with him and he did not know
when she lay down or when she arose thus both the daughters of lot became pregnant by their father the firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab he is the father of the moabites to the day so the moabites began in Genesis 19 When lot had an insestuous relationship with his daughter which means moabites were an outcast people from the start and then you keep going on in moabit history particularly in relation to the Israelites and at one point the moabites refused to help the Israelites and then we read in numbers 25:1 1 when
Israel lived in shittam the people began to with the daughters of Moab these invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people Ate and bowed down to their gods so Israel yoked himself to baale of peor this false god and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and if you keep reading here in Numbers chapter 25 you would see that as a result of this sexual immorality with moabit women 24,000 Israelites died so there's particular sin and shame associated with moabit women the daughters of Moab then one more place look
at Deuteronomy chapter 23 as a result of what happened In numbers as well as the idolatry of the the moabit people they worship the false god kamash listen to what God Said in his law in Deuteronomy 23:3 it says no ammonite or moabit may enter the Assembly of the Lord even to the 10th Generation none of them may enter the Assembly of the Lord forever do you hear that no moabit can enter the Assembly of God down to the 10th Generation so all this to say for a Jewish man to go to Moab was shameful
to Say the least it was like he was turning his back on God leaving Bethlehem the promised land to go to this forbidden land so now back to Ruth 1: 2 the author tells us the name of the man was IMC the name of his wife Naomi and the names of his two sons were meon and kilon they were epit from Bethlehem and Judah they went into the country of Moab and remained there so verse one this man and his wife and his sons were Nameless but now they're named in the next verse and that's
significant because well you might Circle IMC because his name means god is King think about that in a time when the judges ruled and there was no King here we have a clear picture from the very beginning of the story that God is King and notice how it emphasizes again how they were from Bethlehem in Judah in the promised land in the place where Kings From David's line were ruling and they left there to go to Moab so the author basically repeats the same information for from verse one as if the author is saying you
heard me right they actually left Bethlehem in the promised land went to Moab this forbidden land now the verses we're about to read are going to introduce tragedy Into the Heart of this story and the language in what we're about to read in the original Hebrew like I referenced earlier has sort of a Staccato style so it's tur it's quick it's almost unfeeling we don't have details we don't have emotion we just have cold hard blunt heavy facts watch this with me verse three but IMC the husband of Naomi died died and she was left
with her two sons these took moabit wives the name of the one was orpa the name of the other Ruth they lived there about 10 years and both Maan and kilon died so that the woman was left without her her two sons and her Husband there it is in three short verses you have 10 years of torrential tragedy and just like that this family of four Israelites is down to one first IMC the leader of the family who brought them to This Strange Land dies and Naomi has left a widow in Moab raising her two
sons these two sons marry moabite women keep in mind the history there moabit women the ones who seduced Israel Israelite men into idolatry and immorality moabit women who Were not even allowed into the Assembly of the Lord down to the 10 generation and then on top of this shame after 10 years her sons Maan and kilon die just imagine now we're not sure if they died at the same time or one soon after the other what happened here but talk about unexpected tragedy a tragedy that's only hidden by the fact that now Naomi is left
not only without her husband and her sons and finds herself with two moabit women women neither of Them has any heir to carry on their family and that is the curse of all curses in the ancient near East particularly in Israel there was no greater tragedy than for a family to cease to exist and this sets up the ultimate problem in the book of Ruth because Naomi's family is now tearing on extinction and to emphasize that when you get to verse five did you notice the author doesn't even mention Naomi's name He says the woman
was left without her two sons and her husband the woman it's like Naomi has lost her identity she is now an aged Widow with two Barren daughters-in-law from Moab she has no hope no security no home no provision she has nothing we need to feel the weight of this if we're going to feel the Wonder of the next verse so at a time when this suffering woman and her two foreign Daughters in life law find themselves in utter hopelessness verse 6 says then she arose with her daughters in- law to return from the country of
Moab for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food so this is the first time the Lord is mentioned in the whole book Yahweh remember every time in the Old Testament you see capital L and then small caps o r d That's a reference to Yahweh it's the Covenant name for God in relation toship to his people it's the name that represents his faithfulness to his people his loyalty his Mercy his kindness toward them so the Lord God had visited his people with aid he'
restored Bethlehem to the House of Bread the food that it was intended to be so in the Hebrew in the original language in this verse there's figurative alliteration that just shines on the page it rings in The ear in the backdrop of the dark and dismal verses that preceded so the good news comes on the scene then verse 7 says so she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah now on her way listen to what Naomi says to
her daughters-in-law and keep in mind this is actually the first dialogue we see in the book and just think about that up until this point over 10 years have Passed a family has moved people have died barrenness and hopelessness have sunk in but nobody has said a word in the story this is the first time we actually see dialogue and some of the most important parts of the Book of Ruth are going to be revealed in dialogue so the author is going to use specific intentional conversation in different parts actually about half of the book
to communicate the whole purpose of the story so pay Close attention to these profound conversations that take place so the first words we hear in the Book of Ruth are in verse 8 as Naomi said to her daughters-in-law go return each of you to her mother's house may the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me the Lord grant that you may find rest each of you in the house of her husband now you think about those words this is more than just a goodbye and God Bless you
like she thanks them for her for their kindness to her you can only imagine what these three women have been through together Ruth and orpa leaving their own people to marry Israelite men now they're set apart from other moabites living in years of barrenness both of them with no children only to then see their husbands die and they had lived struggled cried mourned together for years so Naomi turns to blast them and if free them up from any Responsibility that they may have felt toward her Naomi basically said say here you deserve better you deserve
husbands and a family not to be stuck with me an aged Widow with nothing and you can imagine the emotion as the rest of verse nine continues then she kissed them and they lifted up their voices and wept and they said to her no we will return with you to your people they weep together as Naomi speaks loud weeping erupts between the three of them as they consider not Being together and as a sign of continued kindness to Naomi they say no we will go with you and Naomi responds and basically Builds an argument for
why they should go back listen to her reasoning it's pretty solid verse 11 Naomi said turn back my daughters why will you go with me have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands turn back my daughters go your way for I'm too old to have a husband if I should say I have hope even If I should have a husband this night and should bear Sons would you therefore wait till they were grown would you therefore refrain from marrying no my daughters for it's exceedingly bitter to me for your sake
that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me so basically if they stay in Moab they can find another husband have a family live happily ever after but if they come with Naomi they'll have nothing Now we've got to understand the picture here of why Naomi starts talking about the fact that she has no more Sons The Book of Deuteronomy chap 25 so starting in verse 5 provided for situations like this so let's read it and then I'll explain it Deuteronomy 255 says if Brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has
no son the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger her husband's brother shall go into her and take her As his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her and the first son whom she Bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother that his name may not be blotted out of Israel so to summarize if there was a childless widow then the brother of the husband would take the wife under his care and provide for her in his family so if Naomi had
other Sons they could provide for orpa and Ruth the problem is Naomi has has no more Sons she doesn't even have a Husband even even if she did have a husband or have another son that day orpa and Ruth could never wait long enough to be cared for by her son so Naomi is basically saying to them there's no hope for me and there will be no hope for you if you come with me and it's even heightened in that last sentence when she says the hand of the Lord is against me the implication is
if you stay with me the hand of the Lord will also be Against you so why would you want to go with Naomi to be honest when I've read this book before I've sometimes thought this feels kind of rude of Naomi why doesn't she want them but the reality at this point is that Naomi seems to be driven by kindness she's saying stay here have a husband don't tie up your lot with mine so what was the effect of her speech verse 14 says then they lifted up Their voices and wept again and orpa kissed
her mother-in-law but Ruth clung to her so they weep again and then orpa goes but Ruth stays and not just stays she clings that's the same same word here in Ruth 14 that's used in Genesis 2:24 to describe the marriage bond when a wife husband leave their family to cling to one another look at Genesis 2:24 therefore a man shall leave his father's mother and hold fast to his Wife and they shall become one flesh that word that's translated hold fast there is what Ruth does to Naomi back here and in the middle of the
tears Naomi says verse 15 see your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her Gods return after your sister-in-law go back with her and now the stage is set for one of the most memorable speeches not just in this book but in all the Bible what we're about to read is Beauty and courage and Commitment and devotion and love all wrapped into one listen to what Ruth says 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 I will
Lodge your people shall be my people and your God my God where you die I will die and there will I be buried may the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death Parts me from you wow you know I find it interesting these Words are often used in wedding vows they're a pretty incredible picture of commitment and if you use them in your wedding that's great but the reality is this is a daughter-in-law speaking to a mother-in-law let me tell you what I've never seen in a wedding like speaking to
your future in-laws like this the language is simple but profound the audience can almost imagine Ruth loosening her Embrace on Naomi looking directly into her eyes and Saying don't try to talk me out of this I am committed to you as your God is my witness I'm committed to you and he will judge me if I break this commitment in a single moment Ruth forsakes everything her Homeland her people her safety her future her Destiny her Gods her everything to go with Naomi and not just for this life so there was an intimate Connection in
near easn thought that where you were Buried had everything to do with what your afterlife would be like and Ruth said I will be buried with you with your people under your God the Lord this was the ultimate Comm not just to Naomi but to Naomi's God and her words are so strong so poignant that they totally silence Naomi Verse 18 when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her she said no more and we don't hear another word until we arrive in Bethlehem verse 19 so the two of them went on until
they came to Bethlehem when they came to Bethlehem the whole town was stirred because of them and the women said as this Naomi so the silence on the road to Bethlehem shows the profound nature of what Ruth had said and it sets the stage for a somewhat awkward entrance into Bethlehem so you can only imagine what's going through Naomi's mind as she reapo the city that years before her husband had turned Their familes back on they had left the promised land had retreated into a pagan land and now she's returning not just without her husband
and son but she's coming back with a moabit woman by her side and the words out the town is shocked is this Naomi what's interesting is Naomi's name means Pleasant that's what her name means so as soon as she comes back they're asking is this the pleasant one listen to Naomi's response in verse 20 she said to themo not call me Naomi means Pleasant call me mea which means bitter call me Mera for the almighty has dealt very bitterly with me I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty why call me
Naomi pleasant when the Lord has testified against me and the almighty has brought calamity upon me just imagine being one of these women Who approaches Naomi hey you're back Naomi and she looks at you and says Naomi really Pleasant nothing could be further from the truth my name is mar my name is bitter and Naomi says I left this place full and had everything I loved and everything that was most important to me and I I have come back with nothing empty and it's at this point I want you to put yourself in Ruth's shoes
so here's Naomi standing in front of a Group of people you're by her side and she says to them I have come back empty the only thing I have is Calamity and immediately their eyes turn to you and you look down because if you're in Ruth's shoes you are a picture of emptiness and Calamity in Naomi's life you're a picture of the bitterness that the almighty brings when you get to verse 22 the writer says Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabit not just Ruth but Ruth the moabit emphasizes where she's from her daughter-in-law who returned
from the country of Moab says it again are you seeing this the author emphasizes twice where Ruth is from Moab of all places she's a moabite woman who finds herself in the middle of a Strange Land for what is going to be a very surprising purpose so what a scene what a story this is just chapter one but I want us to stop at this point and think about this stage That's been set that I believe leads to one clear beautiful glorious life transforming Truth where I want us to land in this first session so
when we think about the beginning of a story we think about scene and characters and themes and tension that the author is setting up to be resolved by the end so let's think about these different elements and we'll go quickly through them you've got some notes in your study guide so think about the Book of Ruth as A story of two places so one is a land of promise we've talked about this Bethlehem the House of Bread the promised land that God has led his people to where they would experience his Blessing as they walked
with him and worshiped him the other is Moab a land of compromise a land of foreign Gods where IMC LED his family in the land where Ruth was born so we have a book in the Bible named after a woman from Moab the land of compromise this is a story Of two places and two people so obviously there are many characters introduced in chapter one but by the end of the chapter we're down to two Naomi and Ruth and they seem so different so one is a woman with honest hurt Naomi and our impression of
Naomi at the end of chapter one may not be very positive but we we can't be too hard on her I mean think of what she has been through a famine a move to Pagan Moab the death of her Husband the marriage of her sons to foreign wives the death of her sons no air left at all it's been blow after blow tragedy after tragedy and she is hurting and don't miss it the author has not pointed us to any sin that Naomi has committed to bring her to this point and she had followed her
husband she cared for her sons she cared for her daughters-in-law it's not that she's perfect but similar to The Book of Job This is a picture of the real but often mysterious confusing nature of suffering that leads to the question why and what I love about the Bible is the honesty that we see here God's word does not gloss over life like it's easy and simple when the reality is life is often tough and hard and Naomi's words at the end referring to herself as Mara they sound harsh but they're honest and do you ever
feel that way does it ever feel like life has been Hard on you you ever feel like you can't take it anymore Naomi is a woman with honest hurt that I'm guessing many of us today can identify with If we're honest so you have a woman with honest hurt and then on the other hand you have a woman with humble devotion the more you read verses 16 and 17 in chapter 1 the more amazing they are Ruth has left everything that's familiar to her her land her family she's entering into a Life of what looks
like perpetual widowhood and childlessness she's going to a new land that's foreign to her and it's filled with prejudice against her and she's going to be there for Better or For Worse she's going to be buried there and the ultimate commment found right in the center intentionally in the center of Ruth's words look at them in Ruth 1: 16 your God will be my God that is radical devotion oh that God would raise up ruths among all of us today Women and men with courage and Faith to f follow God wherever he leads women and
men who will leave behind Earthly Comforts and throw aside worldly dreams and forsake worldly pleasures and securities and who will trust God boldly women and men with adventurous Faith who will do what makes no sense just because they believe in a great God and are willing to stake their life on loyalty to him what a picture two people a woman with honest hurt and a woman with humble Devotion and then the Book of Ruth is a story with two points of need as Naomi and Ruth come back to Bethlehem they have two basic needs and
this is part of the tension that the author has set up first they needed food they had left in a time of famine and they came back in a time of feasting in Bethlehem but who would provide for them specifically which leads to the second point of need they needed family not only did they not have an heir to Carry on their lives and their families in the future they didn't even they didn't have a husband or a son to provide for them in the present this is the main problem in the plot don't miss
the tension how are these husbandless childless widows going to survive in ancient Israel now behind all this we see God or maybe even better to say that sometimes in this story we struggle to see God which leads to two pictures of God that I would say we see from the Start of the story and for the first I want to take you back to Naomi's words in verses 20 and 21 when she said to themo not call me Naomi call me Mera for the almighty has dealt very bitterly with me I went away full the
Lord has brought me back empty why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the almighty has brought Calamity upon me if you'll notice in these verses four times Naomi mentions God but she uses two different names for God she Uses the almighty twice and she uses the Lord twice I want you to see two pictures of God in these two names of God so namei starts by call saying call me Mara for the almighty pause right there in the Hebrew Hebrew this name for God is Shai which means the almighty it's
a name for God that emphasizes God's power God is the almighty one who is in control of all things that's interesting This is one of the most common titles for God also in the Book of Job where we see suffering there it's used over 30 times in that book God is the almighty the omnipotent all power powerful one so here's the first picture of God that we see emphasized in Ruth chapter 1 God is great don't miss this this is so important even amidst all the tragedy that surrounds her Naomi does not doubt the greatness
of God's power and I point that out because it's not uncommon when People walk through suffering to hear people say well maybe God couldn't do this or that like entire theologies have been developed that explain suffering by saying God's doing the best he can but there are some things that are out of his control but that is not what the Bible teaches the Bible teaches that God is Almighty he is all powerful and yes that leads to all kinds of questions about why this or that happens but don't ever doubt that God is great that
God Has all power to transform all things into good which leads to the second picture of God in the Book of Ruth so God is great and God is good the first time God has mentioned in this book remember in verse six it's the name Yahweh or the Lord which we said is the Covenant name for God that Reveals His loving kindness for all who trust in him and did you notice even when we get to Naomi's words at the end of this chapter she uses that Covenant name for God the Lord representing his faithful
love for his people we see this name for God Yahweh representing his goodness and when we realize that we realize Naomi's words as she comes back to Bethlehem amidst the hurt in her heart are actually a very humble Declaration of Faith yes it's a struggling Faith it's a hurting Faith but it doesn't mean it's not a faith in God in the almighty Lord and let's be honest we've all been there or will'll all be there at some point when we walk through hard times difficult circumstances terrible tragedy we're tempted to doubt one of these two
pictures of God we wonder sometimes if God really is in control if God really is great and we wonder sometimes if God really is good if God loves us why is this happening and part of the point of this Book is to show amidst honest hurt and real pain and struggling faith that God is both great and good which leads to the reality that the Book of Ruth is putting before us so a story with one promise for God's people and I pray that this promise right now will come alive and your heart and life
no matter what you're walking through and in preparation for whatever life holds for you in the days to come that you would hear and remember this promise because God is great and because God is good God takes sorrowful tragedy and turns it into surprising Triumph the Book of Ruth teaches that God takes sorrowful tragedy and turns it into surprising Triumph now we've not read the rest of the book and pardon me want to jump to the end uh those of you who read books like that when the tension develops in the beginning and you just
jump to the end to get it resolved or we Could do that right now but we're not because we need to feel what the original reader felt here like the weight and the tension because it's a weight and tension that's spelled all over the Bible all throughout the history of God's people God uses tragedy to bring about Triumph there are so many stories in the Bible of famine and barrenness and pain and loss and trial and fire and Joseph is sold into slavery and then put in a dungeon Shadrach Mishak and Abednego hurled into a
fiery furnace Daniel's thrown into a lion's den over and over again God's people find themselves amidst dark days and difficult times that make you wonder where is God and we this in our lives there are times when we as God's people may think that God is far from us just think about how Ruth one is reflected in so many of our stories when we are surrounded or by famine or everything seems foreign maybe it's not physical Famine but do you ever feel empty you ever long for something that you don't have have you ever found
yourself in a new place physically or a new place emotionally or a new place relationally and you're not sure how you got there but it's not what you planned and you don't really want to be there you ever feel like you don't know what to do next or how about when death strikes or despair sings in maybe somebody you love died a short time ago or maybe it was a Long time ago maybe it was expected maybe it was totally unexpected but the pain is still real today and it just won't seem to go away
or maybe it's despair from something in your life that leaves you wondering if there's ever going to be any relief from this maybe it's a trial that keeps going on and on and on and you wonder when it's ever going to end amidst barrenness and loneliness realities that so many of us are familiar with barrenness dryness for Some of you maybe physical barrenness maybe the desire for children God's not great in that desire that's a road Heather and I are familiar with that so many people walk or maybe spiritual or emotional dryness maybe depression or
loneliness you ever walk through times when you feel like nobody else really understands even the people who love you most or maybe times when you feel like there's no one there to Love you like you need it most in our grief and in our shame when we're hurting and when we cry and when we wrestle When we struggle and even when the things we struggle with we may not be proud of maybe when we struggle with things that other people don't understand or maybe other people even look down upon so in all these things I
don't mean to be overly disheartening here but this is real life isn't it when we get the diagnosis from the doctor or We sign the papers ending the marriage or we hear the news in our family or when the job is gone or the bottom line is not being met on top of all sorts of other tensions whatever it is we wonder where is God in all of this and this is where I want you to see that even in the moments and the days and the years when we think that God is farthest from
us here is the promise God will show himself faithful to us you see I left out one verse in Ruth Chapter 1 I didn't read the last sentence yet so Naomi comes back to Bethlehem with her moabit daughter-in-law from Moab that's what verse 21 emphasized and then listen to the this it's the end of verse 22 and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley Harvest and I wish I could go right now and all that means in the chapters that follow but that's kind of the point Naomi at this Point has no idea
what This means she's standing there saying I'm empty but she has no idea that standing next to her in Ruth is the fullness of God about to be put on display in a way she never could have dreamed she has no idea that in this barley Harvest God is about to weave together the story of all stories to turn bitterness into blessing and that is the point please don't miss this brothers and sisters in the moments when God may seem farthest from you Unbeknownst to you God may be laying the foundations for the greatest display
of his faithfulness to you you say how do you know that and the answer is because this is the gospel this is the promise for all those who trust in God and it's twofold I'd put it this way one his grace will cover our sin ALC had turned his back on God turned his back on the promised land taken his family into the land of compromise but God had brought them back and in the promise God was Using imc's actions to set the stage for one of the most beautiful pictures of his grace in all
the Bible in a similar way Ruth was born into Moab this sinful Pagan idolatrous immoral people she was raised there immersed in a people unpleasing to God but don't miss this brothers and sisters Sin from your past does not dispel hope for your future might write that down Sin from your past does not dispel hope for your future because God's grace covers over Sin and this is the gospel this is the good news at the center of the Bible the ultimate story of God turning sorrowful tragedy into surprising Triumph we are all like IMC we've
all wandered from God and his promise for our lives we're all like the moabites with a history of sin in us that separates us from God and condemns us to judgment yet God has not left us alone in this state God has sought us out God Has Come to us in the person of Jesus and though Jesus lived a Sinless life not deserving of death he chose to die on a cross for our sins but see it that was not the end of that story because Jesus rose from the dead Jesus Took the most tragic
event think about it in all of human history and he turned it into the most triumphal event in all of human history salvation for everyone who trusts in him God and His greatness and his goodness has made a way for you and me not to be held to our past but to had the hope of a totally Different future so I I don't presume every single person listening or watching right now is even a Christian if you are not a Christian I'm so glad you are here right now and I want to invite you to
see all the circumstances that have brought you to this place at this time I want you to to see that God loves you so much he wants you to hear this story right now and see this picture of how he is seeking after you he wants to draw you into relationship With himself and I want to encourage you to say yes to God to say yes I trust your love for me and the words of Ruth I forsake the things of this world and I will follow you as my God and turn my story of
sin and death into your story of Hope and life you say that to God and he will do it his grace is ready to cover all your sin and not just our sin so for all who trust in God his grace will cover our sin and his Mercy will overcome our Sorrow Naomi had experienced great loss and pain in this world and all of us we will all experience great loss and pain in this world but for all those who trust in the mercy of God we will find ourselves with great gain in the end
a kind of gain that we never could have dreamed and it may not be immediately recognizable it will likely involve hard days and patient waiting as we're going to see in this story but we can know we can know Beyond the shadow of a doubt and for all of eternity that the mercy of God will overcome our sorrow in the end like I mentioned earlier that Heather and I have walked through barrenness infertility in our marriage for many years wondering why God was not giv as children we had desire for children and month after month
year after year those desires were unmet just praying and asking God to provide and Him not providing in The Way We Were longing for and some of you know our story how God used that journey to lead us to adoption which we would have said at that time at least I would have said was kind of second best since we can't have children biologically will it adopt we learn real quickly though that adoption is just as best and we adopted our first child Caleb from Kazakhstan brought him into our home and two weeks later found
Out that Heather was pregnant and to our shock and surprise 9 months later our Second Son Joshua came into our home and with two kids one adopted one biological we knew at that point okay we can have children biologically but we also knew we wanted to adopt again and so we started an adoption process and brought our first daughter into our home and when we found out that we would be adopting a girl we knew exactly what we were going to name her the name we chose For her was mea Ruth so MEA not because
we thought she'd be a a bitter little baby but because from the beginning of her life she had a story of loss Heather and I had a story of loss and years of longing to have children to take care of but just as Naomi had no idea how God would use Ruth to change her story our daughter my wife and I had no idea how God was going to change our Stories in such a way that I now look at my princess of a 13-year-old today and I praise God for his faithfulness to take sorrowful
tragedy and turn it into surprising Triumph like this is what the Lord Almighty does he takes sorrowful tragedy and he turns it into surprising Triumph so let me close this session by sharing a hymn with you that's in your studyy it was written by a guy named William Cooper long story short Cooper came to Know Christ and a mental health facility he suffered through bouts with deep depression all of his life but when he came to Christ he discovered that amidst dark days in this world when he faced what he called the storm clouds of
Tri and difficulty he discovered that those same storm clouds in the end rain down Showers of mercy and Grace listen to what he wrote in this hymn called God Moves In A mysterious way God Moves In A mysterious way his Wonders to perform he plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm deep in unfathomable minds of never failing skill he Treasures out his bright designs and works his Sovereign will ye fearful Saints fresh courage take the clouds ye so much tread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head
judge not the Lord by feble sense but trust him for his grace behind a frowning Providence he hides a smiling face his purpose will ripen fast Unfolding every hour the bud may have bitter taste but sweet will be the flower blind unbelief is sure to Heir and scan his work in vain God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain can I just take a moment and pray specifically over those of you who are experiencing difficult days right now I just I just want to pray over you God I I don't presume to
know what every single person listening right now is walking through but I know that you Know that you the Lord Almighty know them and you love them and I just pray oh God that in this moment that they would know in a deeper way than they have maybe ever before that you are great and you are good and that you are able to take sorrowful tragedy and turn it into surprising Triumph God I pray that in the days and the months and the years ahead that you would do exactly That in ways far beyond what
any of us could dream we trust in you oh God and we believe that those who trust in you will never be put to shame thank you for your word and your spirit speaking to us right now amidst the honest hurts and pains we experience in this life in Jesus name we pray amen okay that's Ruth one and we're just getting started but it leads right into To this first segment of our new series hard to reach North Korea so watch this with me there's only one hope for the world and that is Jesus Christ
dying on a cross in 1947 Billy Graham set off to host his first Evangelistic campaign more than 6,000 would Gather in Michigan in the United States and what would Mark the beginning of a once in a generation movement he called these Evangelistic campaigns Crusades and he'd go on to do 47 of them preaching in six continents 185 countries and over the course of his life to more than 200 million people these events were massive but one would stand out from the rest as his most attended Crusade and perhaps with the most unlikely audience and it
happened right here where I'm [Music] standing on Sunday June 3rd 1973 at around 3 in the afternoon over 1.1 million people would come from all over Korea here to Yoo Plaza this used to be An airstrip during the Korean War and a generation before Christians were being persecuted here but now they were coming for 3 Days to hear the good news of Jesus people were ecstatic to be here and to hear this message they stayed intense just so they wouldn't have to go home take a moment to consider we're talking about roughly 3 million people
over the course of 3 days in a country of 30 million people that's 10% of the population all descending on one place And by the way that place is in Asia this is it Europe during the Reformation or the United States during the Great Awakening and yet thousands responded to Graham's call to repentance and to follow Jesus aware of the context he made a very specific call you have to give up all of the Gods and turn to Jesus Christ only as your S stand up and say today I want to receive Christ [Music] the
Billy Graham Library reports that more than 12,000 people asked about receiving Christ that last day with thousands more reaching out in the weeks that follow last year was the 50th anniversary of that Crusade and the impact of Billy gram sermon is still evident today soul is an epicenter for Christianity there are churches and Crosses everywhere you know where the world's largest Presbyterian Methodist Baptist and Assembly of God churches are right here in Korea which makes Korea's neighbor to the north all the more staggering because today less than 30 m away from here where Millions gather
to here Billy Graham speak and where some of the largest mega churches in the world stand lies a place that tells a different story for Christians having a Bible could lead you and your family to Be sentenced to death in a labor kit even just expressing curiosity about Chris could lead to life in prison it's hard to overstate North Korea's intense desire to suffocate any and every gospel effort so how is it that these two places on the same tiny peninsula in eastern Asia respond so differently to the good news of Jesus my name is
Step Morales part of the team here at radical and we've been documenting stories as God B around the world in difficult Places ween Iran Colombia turkey Japan exploring the questions and stories of God's power to advance the gospel to most unlikely places we often think of places of persecution is so distant and foreign to us but I want to invite you with me on a journey to the Korean Peninsula to a place where mega churches and labor camps exist just miles from each other and I want to ask how did this even happen and what
does this have to do With your church and how did one of the world's largest hubs for the gospel grow right next door to the country that wants to extinguish it the [Music] most this is hard to reach North Korea so what are we referring to when we say Korea and why are there two of them well we're talking about this peninsula after the end of World War II the peninsula was divided into South and North Korea the official name of the South is the Republic of Korea and the north is called the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea we're going to talk more about why Korea was split into in a minute but that divide is a relatively new development Korea's history stretches back at least five Millennia and has survived foreign incursions for most of its neighboring countries including bouts with Mongolia China and Japan they even fought against genas Khan the term hermit kingdom was first Given to Korea centuries ago because they've always fought to maintain their identity as a nation in isolation from the rest of the world which makes it all the more surprising to discover how Christianity arrived at
its door the first Westerner to ever set foot on Korean soil was a Spanish priest named Gregorio cesis he came to the southern part of the peninsula on a train in 1593 in an attempt to do missionary work among Koreans but whatever progress he Made Korean authorities made sure to reverse it this was a Hermit Kingdom after all and it saw Christianity as a threat that is until 18 1983 when a Korean traitor called so sangun fell Gravely ill in China and he was treated by a Scottish missionary named John Ross Ross had been praying
for a way to serve Korea and this was God's answer he shared the gospel with Saul and Saul believed together they translated the Gospel of Luke into Korean which Saul Then smuggled into his homeland not too long after he gathered a group of new Believers and transformed his own house into what was the first Protestant church on the Korean Peninsula they met secretly in a remote fishing Village called s just across the border of present day North Korea and even though they worship behind locked doors the doors to the Korean Peninsula were just opening [Music]
Up that house church was the first unofficial Church on the Korean peninsula there were around 30 people so a a church and they made up the majority of the entire Protestant population in the country so Z church was meeting in secret during a very unique time in Korean history these were the last days of what is known as the Chan age a Time marked by political unrest and revolts and in one particular attempt to overthrow the Government Empress mean song's nephew was badly injured he was almost killed so the empress called on the best doctor
she could find Dr Forest Allen who had just arrived in Korea as a medical officer for the American legation Dr Allen was rushed across the city to care for the Queen's nephews and he managed to treat the prince's wound and nurse him back to health in gratitude Korean authorities allowed Allan to open the first Western Hospital making it the First Christian organization in all Korea the doors were now wide open for foreign missionaries to come work and eventually also build schools this hospital is now part of yon University one of the most prestigious institutions in
Korea and Christians were at the center of it all in fact Christianity begins to spread now more than ever and you might be surprised to learn that the first city to become a hub for Christian activity so much so that it was Nicknamed the Jerusalem of the East was not soul but pong the capital of North Korea today was once home to a Revival and model for what God could accomplish through the mission efforts of foreign and local missionaries now I wish I could tell you that after this it was all smooth sailing for Korean
Christi but just as Christianity was expanding on the Korean Peninsula another major event changed the course of history While Christianity was making slow and steady progress Korea was also in the middle of an allout war between China and Japan in 1895 Empress mang song the same one that was used by God to create a welcoming climate for Christianity was assassinated in the aftermath Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910 and Japanese Occupation proved callous to Christianity's growth the newly formed Japanese empire wanted to ensure that all of its subjects were homogenized and Christianity's influence was
far too Western for them they made every effort to discredit or kick out Christian missionaries they tortured Christians they burned down churches they brought fake charges against prominent Christians alleging that theirs was a western religion and when violence didn't work the Japanese built Shinto shrines throughout all of Korea and forced people to participate in their ceremonies Christian Schools were forced To if they weren't part of these ceremonies and once the Japanese openly attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor All Foreign missionaries were forced out of the country the whole world found itself the brink of
war and Korea was right in the middle of it it had been Decades of struggle Korea was still under Japanese Occupation and even in the midst of a World War the Japanese empire was doing what it could to erase Korean culture and their way of Life it's seemed like the miraculous advances that Christianity had made were at risk of Disappearing and then the bombs [Music] [Music] dropped by the end of World War II Japan along with the other Axis Powers was hit with fines and strict limitations and was ultimately forced to surrender its territories could
this mean that finally Korea could be free once again while Korea finally obtained freedom from Japanese Occupation it would soon become more divided than ever before in s the new Republic of South Korea was proclaimed but political Independence was the beginning instead of the end of trouble while the world wered communism marched Again The Big Break came in April 1953 with little switch we have stopped the shooting therefore I am thankful the task now is to put the ceasefire Agreement into fill effect and get down to working out an enduring settlement of the Korean problem
and while Christianity flourished in the South North Korea would become an iron Fortress seemingly impenetrable by the outside world especially Christians and yet today North Korea might just be the most religious place in the world it's not the way you think [Music]
